Pi 

A 

====  a  1 

A 
0 

_--— -  o  1 

"                —i  1 

o 

^^"^"^   JD     1 

0 

^^^^^^    _     I 

1 

^=^~=   —     ] 

3 
0 

a;  l 

^^^^  3J 

I  2 

^==  3> 

-                        3D 

I  9 

'                        J> 

V     Jt  X 


OF'TO-DAY 


UN 

VERS 

STY  G 

FCA 

J  FORK 

EA 

AT 

LOS 

ANG 

ELES 

1  M   ■■    II  1 

—^~L 

%;.' 


Iff  ||)  EX  LiBRjj]|j_jj||  jj 


THE  GIFT  OF 

MAY  TREAT  MORRISON 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER   F  MORRISON 


The  Holland  of  To-day 


library  of  tbc  Great  "Uncrlfc 
Vio.  3 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  GREAT  WORLD 

COMPRISING  ORIGINAL  VOLUMES  OF 

IMatorg,  JBfoarapbg,  Science,  Gravel,  Etc. 

In  cloth  and  morocco,  with  frontispiece.     Published 

for  subscribers  at  30  cents  in  cloth,  and 

4j  cents  in  morocco. 

EDITED   BY 

A.  VAN  DOREN  HONEYMAN 


BOOKS   ISSUED. 

THE  AZTECS.     By  The  Editor. 

REINDEER-LAND.     By  The  Editor. 

THE  HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY.     By  J.   A    Mets. 

SOME    SUCCEEDING   VOLUMES: 

HOW  THE  WORLD  WAS  MADE.     By  Wm.  H. 

Larrabee,  LL.  D. 
THE  PERUVIANS.    By  Arthur  Howard  Noll. 
IN  SUABIA-LAND.    By  Miss  Laura  Maxwell. 
THE  ROOF-COUNTRY  (Thibet). 
Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 
[Order  of  publication  of  volumes  not  certain.] 


/    I  risniii    //.//.I 


Xibrars  of  tbe  <5reat  THIlorlo 


The 
Holland  of  To-day 


BY 

J.    A.   METS 

Author  of  "Naval  Heroes  of  Holland  ' 


fclainflelfc,  "Hew  Jersey 
f>one£tnan  &.  Company 

1905 


THE   CHAPTKRS. 

I.  Thk  Country 5 

II.  THK    I'KOi'l.K   AND    THKlk    CUSTOMS     .  .     ..37 

III.  Outdoor  Amusements 62 

IV.  Births,  Marriages  and  Funerals...  71 
V.  Reeigious  and  Secueak  Feast  Days.  ~]u 

VI.  A  kt.  Science  and  Education Hu 


Copyright,    nx.;,  by 

Ho.NKYMAN     «V    COMI'ANY 

Published  Mav   i,    iw; 


"  Holland  is  a  conquest  made  by  man  over  the  Sea  ;  .  .  . 
it  exists  because  the  Hollanders  .preserve  it  ;.  it. will  vanish 
whenever  the  Hollanders  shall. abandon  it.'", 

— D*E  AMIC1S. 


Sthe 


HOLLAND    OF    TO-DAY 


o 


CHAPTER  I 
The    Country 

The  Name. — It  is  usual  to  apply  the  name  Hol- 
land to  what  is  now  the  kingdom  of  the  Nether- 
lands, which  consists  of  thirteen  provinces,  and 
over  which  one  of  the  noblest  queens  that  ever 
reigned  is  the  constitutional  ruler,  the  good  Wil- 
helmina.  Since  the  death  of  the  everywhere 
revered  Victoria,  she  is  held  in  greater  honor  and 
esteem  than  any  other  present  European  ruler. 

The  name  Holland,  however,  properly  belongs 
only  to  one  of  the  largest  political  divisions  of  the 
whole  country,  namely,  to  the  provinces  of  North 
and  South  Holland.  These  formerly  were  one, 
and  constituted  the  powerful  section  of  that  name, 
when  it  was  ruled  by  the  independent  Counts  of 
Holland.     Yet  this  name,  and  its  more  correct 


6  THE  HOLLAND 

geographical  designation,  "The  Low  Countries," 
virtually  mean  the  same  thing;  at  least  such  has 
been  the  common  acceptation.  It  is  usually  said 
to  have  been  derived  from  the  fact  that  much  of 
the  land  lies  below  the  water-level,  and  so  was  re- 
garded as  hoi,  the  Dutch  for  hollow ;  and  there- 
fore this  descriptive  name,  "Holland,"  was  given 
to  the  country.  It  ie  very  doubtful,  however,  if 
the  early  inhabitants  were  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  che  natural  features  of  the  country  to  be 
aware  that  some  parts  of  it  lay  so  low,  and  gave 
it  this  name  for  that  reason.  There  was  another 
fact  they  did  know,  as  it  was  constantly  before 
them.  This  was  that  the  land  was  everywhere 
thickly  wooded.  Now,  as  the  earliest  settlers  of 
whom  we  have  knowledge  came  from  Germany, 
and  as  these  had  the  word  holt,  meaning  wood,  it 
is  supposed  by  some  that  they  naturally  called 
their  new,  very  thickly  wooded  home,  "Holtland" 
(woodiand),  and  that  in  the  process  of  time  the 
t  dropped  out  and  the  name  became  Holland.  But 
"Holtland,"  (woodland)  would  now  be  an  utter 
misnomer,  as  a  forest,  or  very  extended  tract  of 
woodland,  is  not  to  be  found. 

The  name  Holland  is  seldom  applied  to  the 
entire  country,  except  in  England  and  the  United 
States.  In  France  it  is  called  "Les  Pays-Bas ;" 
in  Germany,  "die  Niederlanden,"  each  being  the 
exact  equivalent  of  a  term  used  in  England, 
and  sometimes  met  with  among  us,  "The  Low 
Countries."  In  this  latter  term  we  have  at  once 
a  comprehensive  and  fitting  name,  and  also  the 
exact  translation  of  the  word  "Netherlands." 


OF  TO-DAY  7 

Natural  Features. — The  entire  surface  of  the 
land  is  low,  excepting  in  the  east  bordering 
on  Germany.  There  it  lies  in  many  cases  lower 
than  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  Here  and  there  are 
elevations,  indeed,  dignified  as  "hills,"  and  some- 
times even  as  "mountains,"  but  this  is  to  be  taken 
rather  as  a  stretch  of  Dutch  imagination  than  as 
actual  fact.  Even  the  so-called  hills  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Guelderland  and  Overyssel  would  scarcely 
be  regarded  as  more  than  hillocks  by  those  accus- 
tomed to  the  soaring  peaks  of  other  lands.  The 
higher  places  in  the  sections  bordering  on  the 
North  Sea,  or  the  great  rivers,  are  only  elevations 
thrown  up  by  the  original  inhabitants  as  places  of 
refuge  in  times  of  inundations.  Such  are  utilized 
now  as  pleasure  resorts,  and  frequently  go  by 
some  fanciful  name,  e.  g.,  the  "Kinderberg,"  (the 
Children's  Mountain),  cither  because  the  chil- 
dren resort  thither  in  summer  for  rollicking  pic- 
nics, or  that  the  name  has  survived  from  the  times 
when  a  safe  refuge  was  found  for  them  from  the 
all-devouring  waters,  while  the  elders  went  to 
save  their  scanty  goods  after  first  battling  with 
the  overwhelming  tide. 

If  one  should  lay  side  by  side  two  maps  of  the 
Netherlands,  one  of  the  country  as  it  was  found 
by  the  Batavians  or  Catti,  who  first  settled  the 
islands  about  the  mouths  of  the  river  Maas  (or 
Meuse),not  far  from  the  present  greatcommercial 
city  of  Rotterdam  (provided  such  a  map  could  be 
found),  and  the  other  that  of  the  present  King- 
dom, he  would  scarcely  recognize  the  country  as 
the  same.    On  the  old  map  he  would  not  find  that 


8  THE  HOLLAND 

great  arm  of  the  North  Sea,  called  the  Zuyder 
Zee ;  but,  where  the  new  map  shows  that  tempes- 
tuous body  of  water,  he  would  find  on  the  old  a 
thickly  wooded  country,  cut  by  a  river  or  estuary, 
at  the  lower  end  of  which  would  be  the  ancient 
lake  Flevo.  All  this  wooded  land  the  ocean  swal- 
lowed up,  or  carried  down  to  its  great  deeps, 
when,  in  1170,  the  Zuyder  Zee  was  formed  and 
the  North  Sea  attempted  to  get  back  its  own.  At 
one  time  old  Ocean  had  doubtless  covered  a  great 
part  of  the  land,  and  Neptune  had  swayed  his  un- 
restrained sceptre  where  now  are  richly  cultivated 
fields.  Some  day,  not  far  in  the  future,  the  ener- 
getic, tireless  Hollanders  will  rob  him  again  of 
that  vast  inland  sea.  And  then  a  new  map  will 
again  have  to  be  made  on  which  there  shall  be  no 
longer  the  Zuyder  Zee. 

Present  Physical  Features. — In  many  respects 
the  Netherlands  differs  from  all  other  countries  in 
physical  features.  As  already  intimated,  the  sur- 
face generally  is  level,  the  line  of  vision  being 
scarcely  broken  by  an  elevation  worthy  of  being 
dignified  as  a  hill.  So  one  will  not  find  there 
that  charm  of  scenery  which  is  the  effect  of  the  va- 
riety afforded  by  hill  and  dale,  by  cool,  shady  for- 
ests and   waterfalls. 

Yet,  though  flat,  it  is  far  from  monotonous.  The 
monotony  is  everywhere  relieved,  one  may  say 
eliminated,  by  the  many  trees  that,  often  in  dou- 
ble rows,  skirt  ever)'  highway  and  canal.  These 
seldom,  if  ever,  run  in  direct,  unbroken  lines.  In 
whatever  direction  the  eye  turns,  the  horizon  is 
bounded  by  a  line  of  noble  lindens,  elms,  or  beech- 


OF  TO-DAY  9 

es,  that  gracefully  curve  this  way  and  that,  making 
an  endless  line  of  beauty.  Frequently  the  trees 
rise  in  equal  symmetry  and  meet  at  the  top,  mak- 
ing in  summer  an  overarching  avenue  of  brilliant 
green,  through  and  under  which,  afoot  or  in  some 
vehicle,  one  can  pursue  his  delightful  way  from 
town  to  town.  As  looked  at  from  a  distance,  you 
may  see,  rising  out  of  those  thick  masses  of  green, 
some  slender  steeple,  or  high,  red-tiled  roof,  that 
forms  a  fine  contrast  to  this  emerald  enfolding. 
To  the  stranger  these  bits  of  exquisite  beauty, 
that  meet  his  eye  every  now  and  then,  are  a  cause 
for  constant  surprise.  He  supposed  the  Low 
Countries  to  be  a  land  of  sand  and  marshes,  utter- 
ly devoid  of  romantic  beauty;  unworthy  of  the 
brush  of  a  master  painter  or  the  pen  of  an  inspired 
poet.  Yet  more  exquisite  pictures  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  in  any  land  than  those  to  be  seen 
on  a  bright  day  in  spring  or  summer  from  the 
deck  of  the  boat  on  the  canal  cut  through  the  is- 
land of  Walcheren  to  shorten  the  distance  be- 
tween Rotterdam  and  Flushing. 

Supposing  you  are  at  the  village  of  Souburg, 
looking  north  ;  at  a  distance  of  two  miles  or  more 
rises  a  high  mass  of  foliage  of  the  deepest  green, 
above  which  project  four  architectural  forms  of 
varied  and  contrasting  style.  The  most  conspicu- 
ous is  that  of  the  high  steeple  of  the  New  Church 
of  Middelburg,  rising  to  a  height  of  four  hundred 
feet,  and  well  called  "The  Long  John  ;"  its  great 
height  terminating  in  a  handsome,  imperial  crown. 
At  a  short  distance  from  this  appears  the  beauti- 
ful, though  much  smaller,  tower  of  the  City  Hall, 


io  THE  HOLLAND 

which  again  is  followed  by  that  of  the  so-called 
Choir-Church,  while  a  little  farther  on  looms  up 
the  handsome  dome  of  the  East  Church.  Each 
tower,  steeple,  or  dome,  differs  from  the  rest  in 
shape  and  form,  and  yet,  with  the  undulating 
green  above  which  they  rise,  strikes  the  eye  with 
an  effect  like  that  produced  upon  the  ear  by  some 
wondrous  chord  in  music. 

Or,  take  a  walk  on  some  sunny  morning  along 
the  long  dyke  leading  from  Delfthaven  to  Rotter- 
dam. Until  you  reach  the  environs  of  the  great 
commercial  town  there  is  nothing  to  attract  the 
eye  but  fat  meadows  filled  with  large,  big-ud- 
dered  Frisian  cattle,  and  well-tilled  fields  bearing 
large  crops  of  heavy-headed  grain.  All  common 
enough,  and,  when  looked  at  for  mile  after  mile, 
somewhat  monotonous.  But  the  dyke  has  been 
passed  over,  and  the  tall  steeples  of  Holland's  bus- 
iest mart  have  long  since  been  in  plain  view,  when 
suddenly,  as  by  a  magician's  wand,  there  bursts 
upon  the  eye  as  lovely  a  bit  of  scenery  as  was 
ever  looked  upon.  A  charming  strip  of  clear,  un- 
polluted water  (it  is  perhaps  the  old  city  moat) 
winding  in  gentle  curves,  whose  surface  the  sun 
is  penciling  in  lines  of  gold,  giving  a  brighter  shim- 
mer as  it  is  cut  by  softly  gliding  white  swans  and 
ducks;  an  artistic  bridge  overarching  it  with  a 
single  span  ;  on  each  side  of  the  water  a  double 
line  of  fine  trees,  behind  and  through  which 
glimpses  are  here  and  there  given  of  handsome 
modern  dwellings.  Bits  of  similar  exquisite  beauty 
are  found  in  the  environs  of  nearly  every  city, 
where  the  ramparts  have  been  razed  and  the  old 


OF  TO-DAY  ii 

curving  moats  are  lined  with  winding  boulevards, 
bordered   with   noble   trees. 

Or  sit  down  restfully  some  August  after- 
noon, at  about  five  o'clock,  on  one  of  the  settees  on 
the  sea-boulevard,  the  old  sea-wall  at  Flushing. 
The  sun  is  casting  all  the  full  splendor  of  his 
glory  upon  the  North  Sea,  making  a  wide  path  of 
gold.  A  fishing  smack,  with  its  odd,  shapeless 
form  and  dark,  tan-colored  sails,  is  just  setting 
out  for  the  place  where  the  best  haul  can  be 
made.  It  is  as  ungainly  an  object  as  ever  was 
fashioned  by  the  hand  of  man.  But  it  nears  that 
golden  path,  and  already  it  is  being  haloed  by  that 
exquisite  light.  And  now  it  enters  into  the  full 
glory,  and  steers  right  along  and  through  that 
liquid  gold  ;  a  thing  transformed,  a  creation  of 
beauty  from  masttop  to  keel.  After  this  comes  a 
brig  sailing  along  that  same  sublime  way;  this, 
too,  is  changed  as  by  a  miracle  in  all  its  spars  and 
sails  and  rigging  into  an  immense  masterpiece  of 
the  most  skilful  worker  in  the  purest  of  metals. 
A  scene  that  is  well  worth  going  many  miles  to 
see,  and  one  which  the  sunny  climes  of  Italy  could 
scarce  surpass.  The  cloud  effects  are  also  fre- 
quently exceedingly  fine,  and  have  been  fitly  de- 
scribed and  enthusiastically  celebrated  in  Hav- 
ard's  Through  the  Heart  of  Holland. 

The  climate  is  similar  to  that  of  England  and 
the  Middle  States  of  the  Union.  There  are,  ow- 
ing to  the  proximity  of  the  sea  and  the  numerous 
rivers,  frequent  rains  and  fogs,  though  the  latter 
are  neither  so  frequent  nor  so  dense  as  those  of 
London.    The  winters  are  more  severe  than  those 


12  THE  HOLLAND 

of  Great  Britain,  though  there  have  been  years 
when  there  was  scarcely  enough  ice  to  give  oppor- 
tunity for  the  great  national  sport  of  skating. 
This  was  the  case  particularly  in  the  years  from 
1847  to  1850.  One  of  the  severest  winters  ever 
known  was  that  of  1465,  when  the  Meuse  was 
frozen  solid,  at  which  time  Duke  Arnold  of  Guel- 
derland  was  treacherously  seized  by  his  brother 
Adolf,  and  carried  across  the  ice  to  the  castle  of 
Buren  and  imprisoned.  This  event  led  to  the  in- 
corporation of  the  Great  Duchy  of  Guelderland, 
with  the  already  extensive  dominions  of  Burgun- 
dy. Then  there  was  the  severe  winter  of  1740, 
when  the  whole  Zuyder  Zee  was  frozen  over,  so 
that  people  not  only  skated  on  its  surface  from 
one  point  to  another  in  all  directions,  but  heavily 
laden  wagons  were  led  over  in  perfect  safety. 

The  winter  most  memorable  in  the  history  of 
the  Netherlands,  however,  was  that  of  i794-'95, 
when  the  solidly  frozen  rivers  gave  easy  access  to 
the  French  legions  under  Pichegru  into  the  heart 
of  the  country.  This  led  to  the  final  downfall  of 
the  Republic.  The  author  recalls  one,  somewhere 
in  the  'forties,  when  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt  was 
frozen  over  from  shore  to  shore,  a  distance  of 
nearly  four  miles,  and  when  the  ice  floes  lay  piled 
up  by  the  tide  to  the  height  of  some  twenty  feet. 

But  when  winter  has  done  its  worst  it  lets  up 
and  gives  way  to  spring,  instead  of,  as  frequently 
with  us,  January  "lingering  in  the  lap  of  May." 
There,  at  least,  the  quotation  is  always  appropri- 
ate: 

"Hail,  gentle  Spring,  ethereal  mildness  come!" 


OF  TO-DAY  13 

Then  the  gentle  touch  of  the  genial  sun  and  the 
soft  breath  of  the  zephyrs  caress  shrub  and  tree 
and  plant  again,  and  soon  the  air  is  laden  with  the 
fragrance  of  the  hawthorn  and  lilac;  and  is  mel- 
odious the  whole  live-long  day  with  the  song  of 
the  lark,  and  through  the  night  with  the  music  of 
the  nightingale.  The  goldfinch  again  tries  to 
pass  itself  off  for  a  canary,  and  the  golden-billed 
blackbird  trills  with  liquid  notes,  and  the  saucy 
magpie,  on  lawn  or  road,  stares  you  out  of  counte- 
nance. Then,  too,  the  Dutch  boys  and  girls  go 
forth  to  gather  the  May-bugs,  either  by  shaking 
them  by  hundreds  out  of  the  trees,  or  by  digging 
them  out  of  the  ground.  These  bugs,  by  the  way, 
are  larger  and  handsomer  than  our  own  June- 
bugs,  being  flatter  in  the  back  and  glossier;  more 
like  our  grape-bugs.  They  afford  much  sport  to 
the  young  folks,  either  by  being  made  to  fly  with 
a  thread  fastened  to  one  of  the  legs,  or  by  being 
harnessed  in  teams  of  four  to  a  wagon  made  out 
of  a  large  carrot,  cut  lengthwise,  from  which  the 
core  has  been  removed,  while  cross-sections  of  the 
larger  end  of  the  carrot  are  made  to  do  duty  as 
wheels. 

The  summers  are  never  so  hot  as  in  our  Middle 
States,  the  thermometer  seldom  going  much  above 
80  degrees.  What  they  call  an  intolerably  hot 
day,  to  us  would  seem  quite  moderate.  Their 
falls,  however,  lack  the  gorgeousness  of  ours.  Na- 
ture does  not  array  itself  in  that  splendor  of 
foliage  which  lends  such  a  charm  here  to  the  dying 
season. 

First  Settlers. — When  and  by  whom  this  land 


H  THE  HOLLAND 

of  forests,  marshes,  ponds  and  rivers  was  first  set- 
tled it  is  impossible  now  to  tell.  That  the  time 
must  have  been  centuries  before  our  era  is  proved 
by  many  objects  of  which  not  a  trace  can  be  found 
among  the  known  first  settlers;  such  as  the  dol- 
mens, or  cromlechs,  in  the  province  of  Drente. 
These  are  immense  structures  of  massive,  hewn 
stones,  sometimes  set  in  a  circle,  the  like  of  which 
are  found  in  several  sections  of  England,  and  else- 
where in  Europe,  Asia  and  America,  and  supposed 
to  be  of  Celtic  or  Druidic  origin.  Stone  weapons 
and  stone  household  utensils  have  also  been  found 
there;  also  altars  dedicated  to  certain  gods  un- 
known among  the  early  German  tribes.  Among 
the  latter  are  the  curious  stone-altars  dedicated 
to  the  goddess  Nehellenia,  preserved  in  the  mu- 
seum at  Middelburg.  These  altars  were  dug  up 
in  recent  years  near  the  shores  of  the  island  of 
Walcheren,  and  were  found  beneath  the  sand, 
lying  face  down ;  from  which  fact,  and  from  their 
great  number,  the  supposition  has  arisen  that,  af- 
ter the  completion  of  the  sacrifices,  the  altars  were 
thrown  into  the  sea  as  an  additional  token  of 
homage  to  the  goddess.  What  became  of  these 
earliest  inhabitants,  whether  they  migrated  or 
were  absorbed  by  or  amalgamated  with  the  sub- 
sequent settlers,  we  know  not. 

We  can  only  go  back,  in  historic  times,  to  the 
Batavians,  a  German  tribe,  who,  with  the  Catti, 
settled  the  islands  about  the  Mcuse,  the  Rhine 
and  the  Scheldt.  The  time  of  their  incoming  is 
obscure.  The  earliest  mention  of  them  is  in  the 
account  given  of  their  employment  by  Caesar  in 


OF  TO-DAY  15 

the  Roman  legions,  when  Caesar  made  an  alliance 
with  them,  and  found  in  them  some  of  his  bra- 
vest troops.  He  even  took  some  of  them  for  his 
body-guard.  As  horsemen  and  swimmers  they  had 
not  their  equals  among  the  Romans,  or  any  others 
of  their  allies.  Their  chief  implements  of  war 
were  the  spear,  bow  and  arrow,  axes  and  shields ; 
their  use  of  the  sword  they  learned  from  the  Ro- 
mans. They  built  their  dwellings  mainly  upon 
heights,  thrown  up  for  the  purpose,  as  a  protec- 
tion against  the  frequent  inroads  of  the  sea  and 
rivers.  These  heights  were  called  vliedbergen, 
(hills  of  refuge).  Some  of  these,  as  mentioned 
before,  still  exist,  though  now  called  by  more  fan- 
ciful names. 

The  connection  of  the  Batavi  with  the  Romans 
was  of  great  benefit  to  these  early  Netherlanders, 
since  from  them  they  imbibed  much  that  made 
them  more  civilized ;  while  in  following  the  con- 
quering legions  to  Rome  and  Greece  they  brought 
back  from  those  lands  of  luxury  something  of 
their  arts  and  knowledge,  and  were  better  fitted 
to  become  the  founders  of  a  nation,  whose  fame 
in  war,  art,  science  and  literature  has  become 
world-wide. 

But  with  the  Roman  virtues  and  civilization 
these  early  Hollanders  also  learned  the  vices  to 
which  the  Roman  soldiery  gave  free  rein  when  at 
rest  from  war  in  camp  or  stronghold.  Those  vices 
and  virtues  wTere  the  seeds  from  which  much  of 
the  national  character  developed. 

The  last  time  the  name  of  the  Batavi  appears  in 
the  country's  history  is  when  the  Emperor  Ha- 


1 6  THE  HOLLAND 

drian  visited  the  Low  Countries  and  established  a 
sort  of  frontier  town,  calling  it  Forum  Hadriani, 
which,  later,  bore  the  name  of  "Voorburg,"  (lit- 
erally Frontier  Castle).  At  the  feasts  given  on 
this  occasion  mention  is  made  of  one  Soranus,  as 
the  best  archer  among  all  the  German  tribes.  Af- 
ter him  the  name  of  the  brave  founders  of  the 
Dutch  nation — the  Batavi — never  occurs  again, 
till  revived  for  a  brief  time  by  Napoleon  I.,  who 
created  the  Batavian  Republic.  It  has  survived 
for  the  past  century,  however,  and  is  likely  to 
live  on  for  centuries  to  come,  in  Batavia,  the 
capital  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  ''the  Queen  of 
the  East;"  and  it  has  been  reproduced  in  the  lit- 
tle city  of  the  same  name  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  and  in  other  towns  in  America. 

The  Floods  of  Holland.— The  suffixes  "dam" 
and  "dyke,"  attached  to  so  many  names  of  Dutch 
cities  and  towns,  form,  as  it  were,  an  epitome  of 
the  country's  history,  suggestive  of  the  age-long, 
heroic  struggles  on  the  part  of  this  people  with 
sea  and  stream ;  and  to  him  that  "hath  ears  to 
hear"  they  are  eloquent  with  the  ever-repeated 
epic,  telling  the  story  of  the  relentless  battle  with 
the  raging  waters,  and  mournful  with  that  "re- 
quiem o'er  the  dead"  that  wave  and  storm  are  for- 
ever singing  for  the  thousands  who  have  perished 
beneath  the  floods. 

The  story  of  the  many  floods  from  which  Hol- 
land has  suffered,  with  its  accounts  of  wide-sweep- 
ing devastation,  miraculous  escapes  and  preserva- 
tions, heroic  self-sacrifice  and  rescue,  would  make 
a  long  narrative,  full  of  dramatic  interest.     We 


OF  TO-DAY  17 

can  only  note  some  salient  points  in  the  list  of 
these  disasters. 

In  four  centuries,  from  the  Twelfth  to  the  Six- 
teenth, there  were  no  less  than  twenty  of  these 
calamitous  floods,  besides  innumerable  lesser  ones, 
engulfing  thousands  of  men,  women  and  children, 
countless  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  making 
a  desert  waste  where  before  had  been  rich  farms 
and  prosperous  towns.  In  11 70  the  North  Sea 
made  that  tremendous  break  which  created  the 
greater  part  of  the  present  Zuyder  Zee,  at  which 
time  sea-fish  were  caught  in  the  streets  of 
Utrecht.  In  1421  a  storm  from  the  northwest  sent 
the  waters  of  the  German  ocean  careering  over 
the  land  at  the  same  time  that  it  backed  up  those 
of  the  rivers,  and  the  two  resistless  forces,  com- 
bined, swallowed  up  seventy-two  towns,  villages 
and  hamlets,  with  all  they  contained ;  only  fifty  of 
them  rose  again  at  the  recession  of  the  waters. 
The  calamity  at  this  time  was  made  still  greater 
not  only  by  the  utter  destitution  of  the  immediate 
sufferers,  but  by  the  general  poverty,  the  country 
having  been  well-nigh  completely  stripped  by  long 
continued,  civil  wars,  so  that  there  was  no  money 
to  succor  the  victims.  This  was  called  the  "St. 
Elizabeth  Flood,"  from  the  date  on  which  it  hap- 
pened, November  9,  being  dedicated  to  that  saint 
in  the  old  Roman  Calendar. 

Even  in  the  past  century  three  very  destructive 
floods  have  occurred;  that  of  1825,  which  devas- 
tated four  provinces;  of  1855,  which  laid  waste 
nearly  all  of  the  provinces  of  Guelderland  and 
Utrecht,    and   a   great   part  of   North   Brabant, 


1 8  THE  HOLLAND 

caused  by  the  overflowing  of  the  Rhine ;  and  that 
of  the  early  spring  of  1861,  when  the  late  King 
William  III.  gained  the  hearts  of  his  people  by  his 
visits  to  the  devastated  districts  and  his  benevolent 
alleviation  of  suffering.  Well  may  De  Amicis 
say:  "It  is  plain  that  miracles  of  courage,  con- 
stancy and  industry  must  have  been  accomplished 
by  the  Hollanders,  first  in  creating  and  after- 
wards in  preserving  such  a  country.  The  enemy 
from  which  they  had  to  rescue  it  was  triple:  the 
sea,  the  lakes,  the  rivers.  They  drained  the  lakes, 
drove  back  the  sea,  and  imprisoned  the  rivers." 

The  Dunes. — Before  we  pass  to  the  methods 
employed  by  the  people  for  this  drainage,  let  us 
glance  at  one  of  the  means  that  Nature  herself 
has  employed  to  stem  the  onrush  of  the  tempest- 
driven  waves  toward  its  prey;  at  the  ramparts 
which  the  sea  itself  has  thrown  up  against  its  own 
assaults.  These  are  the  dunes,  the  prominent  nat- 
ural feature  along  the  entire  coast.  They  are 
sandhills  of  greater  or  lesser  height  formed  by  the 
sea  itself,  making  its  own  waves  the  carriers,  pil- 
ing them  in  irregular  heaps  on  the  shore,  and 
pounding  them  almost  into  solidity  by  the  billows 
that  seem  sent  only  to  carry  back  to  its 
depths  what  it  had  grudgingly  given.  Some  of 
these  dunes  make  quite  lofty  hills,  especially  those 
along  the  coast  of  the  more  northerly  provinces, 
affording  from  their  tops  fine  views  of  the  far- 
sweeping,  many-voiced  sea.  In  the  neighborhood 
of  The  Hague,  where  some  of  these  high 
sandy  elevations  are  found,  they  are  called 
kykduinen,  (observation  dunes). 


OF  TO-DAY  19 

These  dunes  are  often  covered  by  a  coarse  kind 
of  wiry  grass,  either  growing  naturally  or  planted 
by  the  shore-workers  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  gales  from  blowing  away  these  guardians 
of  the  inland.  When  this  grass  is  young,  the 
strong,  fibrous  roots  thrown  out  by  it  over  the 
sand,  like  so  many  nervous  fingers  clutching  the 
unstable  mass,  resemble  somewhat  the  star-like 
form  of  young  cranberry  plants.  Its  tough, 
woody,  sharp-edged  stalks  form  the  abode  of 
countless  little  bugs,  the  size  of  ladybugs,  of 
every  variety  of  color,  whose  highly  burnished, 
glossy  wings  reflect  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  fill  the 
space  around  with  iridescent  hues;  a  very  paradise 
for  some  entomologist.  These  beautiful  crea- 
tures the  boys  and  girls  gather  by  bottlesful. 

A  singular  method  is  employed  on  the 
island  of  Walcheren  to  prevent  the  spread  in- 
land of  the  dunes  by  the  force  of  the  terrific  gales. 
This  is  the  planting  of  a  forest  of  small  trees, 
whose  branches  become  twisted  and  interwoven 
so  closely  around  and  above  that  they  almost  hide 
the  sun.  It  extends  for  a  distance  of  miles  along 
the  inner  side  of  the  dunes,  forming  a  continuous 
arbor,  and  is  intersected  by  paths  that  make  ro- 
mantic lovers'  walks  for  the  peasant  lads  and  lass- 
es. The  whole  is  called  by  the  appropriate  name, 
"The  Mantel,"  which  is  the  equivalent  for  our 
word  "curtain." 

Let  us  imagine  ourselves  in  a  company  of 
healthy,  stout,  rosy-cheeked  Dutch  boys  and  girls, 
and  share  their  fun  in  plunging,  or  rolling,  down 
one  of  the  dunes  on  the  seaside,  in  a  spot  where 


20  THE  HOLLAND 

none  of  the  wiry  grass  would  hurt  face  or  eyes. 
Suddenly  we  come  down  from  the  yielding  sand 
and  strike  the  beach,  which,  of  course,  we 
imagine  will  give  a  soft  stopping-place.  But,  in- 
stead, we  find  it  hard  enough  to  give  us  a  sud- 
den jar,  to  our  own  painful  chargrin,  but  to  the 
great  delight  of  the  native  youngsters.  For  Old 
Neptune  has  been  beating  this  shore  for  ages  and 
ages  with  his  ponderous  waves,  until  the  beach  is 
as  solid  as  a  floor.  This  firmness  is  characteris- 
tic of  many  of  the  beaches  along  the  coast,  partic- 
ularly at  the  bathing-places  of  Flushing,  Dom- 
burg  and  Scheveningen.  The  two  places  first 
named  are  not  yet  popularized  as  summer  resorts 
for  sea-bathing,  but  nowhere  may  one  find  a  bet- 
ter and  more  gently  sloping  beach,  or  have 
greater  zest  in  gamboling  in  the  white-capped  bil- 
lows. 

Seaside  Resorts. — Flushing  has  come  into  no- 
tice as  a  seaside  resort  in  comparatively  recent 
years,  and  is  not  much  frequented  now  by  visitors 
from  abroad.  But  it  is  sure  to  become  better 
known  since  the  establishment  at  this  port  of  a 
fine  line  of  steamboats  to  London,  making  it  the 
shortest  route  from  England  to  the  Continent.  It 
has  been  made  easy  of  access  also  by  a  tram,  or 
electric,  line,  running  direct  from  Middelburg 
and  Flushing  to  the  beach  hotel  and  cottages. 
Domburg  has  an  equally  fine  beach,  a  handsome 
hotel  and  a  number  of  neat  summer  cottages,  and 
was  for  some  time  the  favorite  seaside  resort  of 
Carmen  Sylva,  the  Queen  of  Roumania. 

Scheveningen,   however,    has    for    years    been 


OF  TO-DAY  21 

widely  known  as  one  of  the  finest  resorts  on  any 
of  the  European  coasts,  and  is  visited  each  sum- 
mer by  numbers  of  the  rich  and  great  from  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world.  The  dunes  that  here 
skirt  the  beach  are  crowned  with  fine  hotels  and 
cottages,  many  of  the  latter  being  found,  also,  in 
the  part  of  the  town  lying  nearer  the  shore,  while 
everything  to  attract  the  eye  and  ear,  and  to  de- 
plete the  purse  of  the  visitor,  abounds. 

Bathing  Machines. — There  are  at  these  seaside 
places  two  conveniences  for  the  bather  that  strike 
the  American  as  peculiar.  They  are  the  bathing 
wagons  and  the  singular  chairs  arranged  along 
the  beach.  The  former  are  bathing-booths  on 
wheels,  in  which  the  bather  can  dress  and  undress 
at  his  leisure  and  in  perfect  seclusion.  When  he 
is  ready  for  the  plunge,  the  bath-wagon  is  either 
pulled  by  a  horse,  or  pushed  by  attendants,  into 
the  water,  and,  when  ready  to  come  out,  the  same 
means  brings  him  back  to  shore.  The  chairs  are 
made  of  wicker,  or  bamboo,  and  look  like  old- 
fashioned  cradles  with  the  rockers  off.  They  are 
set  dowm  upright  at  the  foot-end,  the  rounded  top 
serving  as  a  canopy  to  protect  the  eyes  of  the  sitter 
against  the  sun. 

The  Dykes. — If  the  dunes  were  the  only  ram- 
parts this  little  country  had  for  protection  against 
its  ancient  foe,  the  ocean,  it  would  long  since  have 
been  swallowed  up.  As  said  before,  again  and 
again  the  sea  has  hurled  itself  upon  these  shores, 
and  swept  away  in  its  yawning  vortexes  whole 
sections  with  their  inhabitants,  so  that  from  no 


22  THE  HOLLAND 

coast  could  the  words  of  Bailey  be  more  fittingly 
uttered, — 

"Of  thousands  thou  both  sepulchre  and  pall, 
Old  Ocean,  art  !  " 

But  whenever  the  assault  had  been  most  violent 
and  the  havoc  most  disheartening,  the  indomita- 
ble people  would  push  another  of  those  adaman- 
tine fingers,  the  great  sea-dykes,  into  the  very  face 
of  their  foe,  as  if  to  say,  'Thus  far  shalt  thou 
come  and  no  farther.'  This  work  has  gone  on 
for  centuries  and  centuries,  till  to-day  every  part 
of  the  country  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  sea, 
or  the  lawlessness  of  rivers,  is  lined  with  these 
mighty  ramparts. 

The  first  of  these  defences  were  built  by  the 
Romans,  either  by  surrounding  their  camps  with 
high  earth-walls,  if  they  were  near  the  sea,  or 
along  the  rivers  to  keep  them  within  proper  boun- 
daries. After  the  Romans  left,  the  inhabitants 
were  strangely  slow  in  protecting  their  property 
in  this  way,  possibly  because  their  ceaseless  con- 
tests with  each  other  made  them  pay  more  atten- 
tion to  warring  with  human  foes  than  to  combat- 
ting the  waters.  As  their  losses  from  the  latter 
became  more  severe,  they  were  driven  to  multiply 
the  barriers.  In  this  the  monks  sometimes  set  the 
example,  as  in  the  province  of  Friesland  after  the 
inundations  there  in  the  Thirteenth  Century.  It 
was  in  the  latter  century,  and  in  the  following 
one,  that  numerous  dykes  began  to  be  laid  across 
the  lowest-lying  section,  by  means  of  which  what 
before   were   marsh   and   bog  were   changed    into 


OF  TO-DAY  23 

stretches  of  arable  land.  The  lands  so  enclosed 
are  called  "polders."  So,  by  degrees,  that  which 
at  first  was  only  a  local  attempt  at  protection  be- 
came a  universal  system  of  safeguard,  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  what  is  called  the  Waterstaat,  (Wa- 
ter Department), which  embraces  the  construction 
and  care  of  the  dykes,  canals,  polders  and  sluices ; 
one  of  the  most  important  departments  of  the 
civil  government  of  the  Netherlands.  The  offi- 
cials appointed  to  oversee  this  work  receive  a  civil 
engineering  education  specially  adapted  to  their 
service,  while  the  laborers  employed  are  also  spec- 
ially trained.  The  cost  of  construction  and  main- 
tenance of  these  water-defences  is  enormous.  It 
has  been  said  that  if  the  dyke  protecting  Walcher- 
en,  the  smallest  of  the  numerous  islands  formed 
by  the  delta  of  the  Scheldt,  had  been  built  of  solid 
copper,  its  cost  could  not  have  been  greater. 

At  the  city  of  Helder,  the  most  northerly  point 
of  North  Holland,  is  a  massive  dyke  over  six  miles 
in  length  and  extending  into  the  sea  for  nearly 
eight  hundred  feet.  Whenever  there  is  the  slight- 
est possibility  of  the  ever-ready  foe  to  make  an  at- 
tack upon  the  land,  from  the  northeastern  corner 
of  Groningen  to  the  most  southwesterly  point  of 
Zeeland,  these  Cyclopean  bastions  are  erected,  and 
ceaselessly  watched  by  a  corps  of  builders  and 
guards. 

The  dykes  are  built  in  the  most  scientific  and 
substantial  manner,  the  granite,  or  basalt,  and 
timber  coming  mainly  from  Norway,  as  the  coun- 
try itself  has  none.  The  massive  piles  are  cu- 
riously protected  against  the  ravages  of  a  destruc- 


24  THE  HOLLAND 

tive  worm,  a  borer,  supposed  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  this  neighborhood  by  a  vessel  coming 
from  foreign  seas.  Into  every  part  of  the  piles 
that  may  be  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  destruc- 
tive insect  short  stout  nails  are  driven ;  and  these 
are  placed  so  close  along  the  entire  pile  that  not 
the  smallest  spot  is  left  exposed.  This  same  pre- 
cauiion  is  employed  with  all  the  timbers  that  are 
used  in  the  jetties  or  wharves  of  the  various  cities. 

The  dykes  are  provided  with  sluices,  some  of 
great  size,  for  the  purpose  of  letting  the  water 
flow  out  where  it  has  accumulated  on  the  enclosed 
land,  and  also,  in  case  of  need,  to  let  it  flow  unre- 
strained over  the  adjacent  country.  Thus  water, 
that  so  often  has  been  the  most  destructive  enemy 
of  the  Netherlands,  can  be  made  into  the  coun- 
try's most  effective  ally.  This  latter  has  been 
demonstrated  again  and  again,  notably  in  the  de- 
liverance of  the  city  of  Leyden  during  its  famous 
siege,  and  in  the  war  with  France  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV7.,  when  the  opening  of  the  sluices 
by  the  Dutch  put  a  stop  to  the  farther  advance  of 
that  king's  victorious  army.  It  is  believed  that 
in  a  single  day,  and  at  a  moment's  notice  of  the 
approach  of  a  hostile  army  by  land,  every  foot  of 
the  country,  except  the  higher  portions  of  the 
province  of  Guelderland,  could  be  submerged  un- 
der water  so  deep  that  no  army  could  pass  through 
it. 

The  Canals. — Another  interesting  part  of  the 
water-system  of  the  Netherlands  is  found  in  its 
canals.  They  form  the  connecting  links  every- 
where between  cities,  towns  and  villages.     They 


OF  TO-DAY  25 

were  formerly  used  for  communication  between 
distant  points  fully  as  much  as  the  highways, 
when  the  canal-boat  was  the  most  common  con- 
veyance of  passengers  and  merchandise.  As  modes 
of  travel,  they  are  now  rapidly  disappear- 
ing, however,  giving  place  to  the  tramway  and 
electric  road,  while  for  the  transportation  of 
freight  the  steam  railways  have  made  them  almost 
useless.  The  old-fashioned  canal-boat  is  also  giv- 
ing place  (where  the  canals  are  still  used  for  pas- 
senger traffic)  to  handsome  little  steamboats,  in 
which  a  trip  among  the  cultivated  fields  to  some 
of  the  quaint  interior  villages  affords  no  small 
enjoyment  to  the  sojourner. 

One  might  go  far  before  seeing  the  old-fash- 
ioned, clumsy  trckschuyt  (literally,  draught-boat) 
pulled  by  horses,  or,  as  they  were  said  to  be  in 
some  places,  drawn  along  laboriously  by  women. 
This  use  of  women  the  author  has  never  seen  in 
the  Netherlands,  and,  therefore,  if  this  occurred 
anywhere,  it  must  have  been  rare.  As  to  the  or- 
dinary canal-boat  drawn  by  horses  or  mules,  they 
are  much  more  common  in  our  own  country  than 
in  this  land  of  canals. 

Some  of  the  smaller  canals  will  doubtless  con- 
tinue to  be  used  for  a  long  time  to  come,  as  they 
are  employed  for  the  conveyance  to  market  of  the 
products  of  the  fields  and  orchards  from  the 
truck-farms  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  larger 
cities.  In  such  case  the  main  canal  is  intersected  at 
various  points  by  smaller  canals,  that  run  in  and 
out  among  the  farms.  From  there  the  fresh  fruit 
and  vegetables  are  brought  in  dories  to  each  con- 


26  THE  HOLLAND 

necting  point  with  the  main  canal,  and  then 
loaded  upon  a  larger  boat.  The  latter  is  not 
pulled  by  horses,  nor  propelled  by  steam,  but  is 
pushed  along  by  means  of  a  long  pole,  the  lower 
end  of  which  is  set  against  a  cleat  in  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  while  the  larger  end  rests  against  the 
boatman's  shoulder.  As  the  steps  of  the  sturdy- 
Dutchman  are  vigorous  and  rapid,  the  progress 
is  not  so  slow  as  one  might  imagine. 

Every  city  and  village  in  the  Netherlands  is  in- 
tersected by  canals,  some  of  them  running  be- 
tween the  rear  of  two  rows  of  houses,  when  they 
give  a  peculiar  and  interesting  view  of  backyard 
life.  The  only  exception  to  this  is  The  Hague, 
which,  not  being  intended  for  a  commercial  town, 
had  no  need  of  these  inlets  and  outlets  for  vessels. 
In  some  cities  these  canals  (often  called  gracilis, 
which  may  mean  canal,  or  moat),  are  almost  as 
numerous  as  the  streets.  This  is  the  case  particu- 
larly in  Amsterdam,  which,  for  this  reason  has 
been  aptly  called  "The  Venice  of  the  North." 
There  they  follow  the  semi-circular  form  of  the 
city,  making  no  less  than  six  large  semi-circular  ca- 
nals, and  two  lesser  intersecting  ones.  They  are 
crossed  by  bridges  to  the  number  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty — a  bridge  for  nearly  every  day  in  the 
year. 

Ship  Canals. — Since  1825,  several  large  ship- 
canals  have  been  constructed  at  immense  cost  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  better  access  to  the  sea  for 
the  cities  of  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam.  The 
first  was  the  North  Holland  Canal,  which  joined 
Amsterdam   to  Helder  and   Nieuwe   Diep    (the 


OF  TO-DAY  27 

New  Deep)  near  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
province  of  North  Holland.  This  gave  the  city 
direct  access  to  the  ocean,  instead  of,  as  before,  re- 
quiring its  vessels  to  he  sent  by  way  of  the  river 
Y  and  the  shallow,  but  dangerous,  Zuyder  Zee. 
It  was  fifty-two  miles  long,  and  had  a  width  of 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet, 
with  a  depth  of  over  twenty  feet.  But  it  failed 
of  its  intended  purpose  to  make  Amsterdam  a 
large  maritime  city,  and  it  lost  much  of  its  impor- 
tance when  large  ocean  steamers  began  to  replace 
sailing  vessels.  Another  was,  therefore,  con- 
structed from  Amsterdam  to  Ymuiden,  and  was 
called  the  North  Sea  Canal.  This  was  opened 
in  1876.  It  is  only  fifteen  miles  long  and  of 
greater  depth  and  width  than  the  former.  To 
construct  it,  the  immense  swamp  that  forms  the 
southwesterly  and  marshy  part  of  the  Zuyder  Zee, 
called  the  Pampas,  had  to  be  closed,  while  the 
port  of  Amsterdam  was  improved  every  way,  so 
as  to  accommodate  ships  of  the  largest  draft.  The 
Rhine-Merwede  Canal  was  also  constructed.  It 
empties  directly  into  the  North  Sea  Canal,  and 
thus  gives  to  the  city  direct  connection  with  the 
Rhine. 

The  highly  profitable  results  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  North  Sea  Canal  appeared  immedi- 
ately, when  from  243  ships,  that  passed  the  great 
locks  at  Ymuiden  the  first  year  of  the  opening  of 
the  canal,  the  number  leaped  to  3376  the  next 
year,  while  in  1887  it  had  nearly  doubled  this 
number,  being  then  62  s6  vessels. 

But  the  increasing  size  and  draft  of  the  ocean 


28  THE  HOLLAND 

steamers  made  this  North  Sea  Canal  inadequate 
to  the  commercial  demands  of  the  city,  so  that 
another  canal  had  to  he  constructed.  This  was 
opened  for  traffic  in  December,  1896,  and  was 
deepened  again  in  1899.  It  runs  almost  directly 
by  the  side  of  that  opened  in  1876,  and  has  the 
same  length,  but  with  a  width  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  feet,  and  a  depth,  at  low  water,  of 
thirty-two  feet,  and,  at  high  water,  of  thirty-eight 
feet.  Vessels  are  admitted  to  this  at  Ymuiden  by 
means  of  immense  locks  worked  by  electricity. 
These  constitute  a  specimen  of  engineering  inge- 
nuity and  skill  that  place  it  among  the  most  nota- 
ble works  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  The  Rhine- 
Merwede  Canal,  mentioned  above,  is  seventy-two 
miles  long,  sixty-six  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  and 
one  hundred  and  seven  feet  at  the  water-line.  To 
construct  it  a  canal  was  dug  to  the  small  river 
Merwede,  which  was  dredged  and  deepened,  and 
from  thence  another  canal  was  constructed  to  con- 
nect that  river  with  the  Rhine.  The  cost  of  all 
this  was  again  enormous,  but  is  being  rapidly  re- 
paid by  the  immense  increase  in  the  commerce  of 
the  city.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1899, 
by  this  canal,  2024  vessels  entered  and  201 1 
cleared  from  the  port  of  Amsterdam,  the  tonnage 
entering  and  clearing  being  respectively  7,004,131 
and  6,924,934. 

Ditches. — Closely  allied  to  and,  indeed,  imme- 
diately connected  with  the  canals,  are  numerous 
ditches,  that  are  universal  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts, and  that  divide  the  fields  and  farms.  A 
fence,  whether  of  wood  or  wire,  is  scarcely  to  be 


OF  TO-DAY  29 

seen.  Ditches  do  what  is  performed  by  fences 
with  us,  and  serve  both  for  keeping  the  cattle 
from  wandering  off  and  for  drainage.  Sometimes 
there  is  an  absence  of  water  in  these  ditches,  and 
the  mud  and  ooze  are  allowed  to  accumulate  in 
them ;  this  strikes  the  stranger  as  a  serious  menace 
to  health.  From  time  to  time,  however,  the  muck 
and  mud  are  dug  out  and  spread  over  the  fields, 
serving  as  an  excellent  fertilizer. 

The  Windmills. — A  feature  of  the  Netherlands 
even  more  distinctive  than  its  canals  are  the  wind- 
mills. At  almost  every  turn  their  mighty-winged 
arms  are  battling  with  the  air,  ready  to  bid  defi- 
ance to  a  host  of  Don  Quixotes.  Some  of  them 
are  large  structures,  the  upper  part  being  of  wood 
and  mounted  with  a  movable  cap,  in  which  the 
immense  wings  are  fixed.  The  wings  revolve 
with  the  wind,  so  that  from  whatever  quarter  it 
blows  the  mill  can  do  its  work.  The  lower  part 
is  usually  of  brick,  and  is  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  miller's  dwelling.  Between  the  upper 
and  lower  halves  runs  a  wide  gallery  around  the 
circumference,  from  which  the  miller  can  reach 
the  wings  to  adjust  the  sails.  Sometimes  small 
boys  get  up  on  this  and  climb  the  ladder-like 
wings,  when  they  are  not  in  motion.  This  is  a 
perilous  adventure,  as  was  proved  in  the  case  of  a 
little  fellow,  once,  who  had  climbed  some  distance 
up  the  wing  of  one  of  these  tall  mills,  when 
the  wind  sprang  up,  and  the  miller,  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  lad's  being  there,  started  the  mill. 
The  poor  little  "dare-devil"  would  doubtless  have 


30  THE  HOLLAND 

been  hurled  to  a  horrible  death,  if  a  chance  pass- 
er-by had  not  heard  his  agonized  screams  and 
warned  the  miller  to  stop  the  mill. 

These  mills  are  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes: 
for  grinding  grain,  sawing  wood,  crushing  stone, 
pulverizing  chemicals,  and  for  the  draining  of 
flooded  fields,  marshes,  or  lakes.  Their  use  for 
drainage  purposes  deserves  more  than  mere  men- 
tion. The  places  to  be  drained  are  first  sur- 
rounded by  dykes,  and  these  again  by  canals,  or 
ditches.  Then,  from  the  great  force-pump  in  the 
mill,  the  suction  pipes  are  let  down  into  the 
flooded  levels  and  the  water  pumped  out  over  the 
dyke  into  the  canal,  which  carries  it,  either  direct- 
ly or  by  way  of  some  river,  to  the  North  Sea. 
Every  gallon  so  carried  off  bears  with  it  a  hearty 
farewell  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  who 
thus  get  rid  of  the  troublesome  and  destructive 
element,  and  gain,  in  its  stead,  fertile  fields,  luxu- 
riant crops  and  rich  meadows,  dotted  with  their 
handsome  black  and  white  cattle.  In  this  way, 
during  the  Seventeenth  Century,  in  less  than  for- 
ty years  twenty-six  different  lakes  were  drained. 
Early  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  15,000  acres 
were  redeemed  in  the  province  of  North  Holland 
alone,  and  in  South  Holland,  from  1800  to  1844, 
72,500  acres  were  reclaimed;  while  from  1500 
to  1858  in  the  entire  country  some  887,500  acres 
were  turned  from  a  watery  waste  into  rich,  al- 
luvial fields.  For  a  number  of  years  the  people 
of  South  Holland  had  been  singing  concerning 
Haarlem  Lake: 


OF  TO-DAY  31 

"Groote  Plas,  Groote  Plas, 

'K  won  je  leeggemalen  -was!" 
('•Mighty  Pond,  Mighty  Pond, 

Would  you  were  completely  drained!") 

In  1852  the  popular  wish  was  fully  granted,  and 
the  waters  that  had  been  for  centuries  a  perpetual 
menace  to  the  nearby  cities  of  Haarlem,  Leyden 
and  Amsterdam,  were  sent  back  to  the  sea  with 
the  command  never  to  return.  The  area  so 
drained  had  a  circumference  of  nearly  twenty- 
seven  miles,  and  the  work  required  thirty-six 
months  for  its  completion.  For  this,  however, 
not  wind  but  steam  mills  were  employed.  The 
great  gulf  of  the  Zuyder  Zee  will  be  the  next  to 
be  changed  into  dry  and  inhabitable  land. 

Highways  and  Streets. — The  highways  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  found  in  any  land.  They 
are  paved,  usually,  with  vitrified  yellow  brick, 
and  are  kept  in  constant  repair.  Noble,  overarch- 
ing trees  line  their  sides,  often  in  double  rows,  and 
are  kept  trimmed  close  for  a  height  of  twelve  feet 
or  more,  so  as  to  permit  the  winds  to  sweep 
through  them  over  the  road-bed,  and  prevent  the 
accumulation  of  mud,  or  damp,  a  measure  partic- 
ularly necessary  in  a  land  of  so  much  mist  and 
rain.  Another  charm  is  added  to  the  roads  by 
far-stretching  hedges  of  hawthorn.  When  these 
are  in  bloom,  during  the  month  of  May,  a  drive 
along  these  beautiful  canopied  roads  is  a  delight 
worth  going  far  to  enjoy. 

One  of  the  most  charming  of  these  roads  is 
that  from  The  Hague  to  Scheveningen.  Indeed, 
Schcveningen  owes  much  of  its  supremacy  as  such 


32  THE  HOLLAND 

to  this  very  road.  It  runs  through  what  appears 
as  a  noble  forest,  the  product  of  the  labor  of  the 
beloved  Father  Cats,  at  one  time  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  and  the  poet  most 
cherished  by  the  people.  When  he  set  out  these 
trees  there  was  nothing  but  a  sandy  waste.  Now 
an  avenue  of  fine  elms  lines  the  main  highway, 
which  is  flanked  on  one  side  by  a  tram-line,  and 
it  again  has  at  its  side  a  delightful  footpath.  One 
who  should  go  exploring  in  these  woods  would, 
if  he  took  the  proper  direction,  (to  the  right,  as 
one  goes  to  the  sea)  come  upon  most  agreeable 
surprises. 

One  is  a  beautiful  park,  tastefully  laid  out,  with 
handsome  villas  or  summer  residences  scattered 
through  it.  Perhaps  a  still  greater  surprise,  how- 
ever, is  in  the  fact  that,  while  the  country  every- 
where seems  to  be  one  unbroken  level,  here  one 
finds  elevations  and  depressions,  planted  with 
varied  shrubs  and  flowers,  or  beautifully  green 
with  a  soft,  velvety  sward,  while  a  glassy  lake, 
with  many  windings,  lies  between  banks  of  con- 
siderable height.  On  the  other  side  of  The 
Hague  lies  the  House  in  the  Woods,  where  the 
Hague  Peace  Tribunal  held  its  first  sessions,  and 
in  the  park  of  which  are  the  finest  beeches  to  be 
found   in   the   Netherlands. 

If  the  highways  are  commendable,  the  streets 
in  many  cities  are  abominable.  They  are  often 
too  narrow  for  two  vehicles  to  pass,  a  fault  com- 
mon to  some  streets  in  other  cities  in  Europe; 
while  the  pavement  consists  of  very  rough  cobble- 
stones, over  which  the  wheels  rattle  and  the  wood- 


OF  TO-DAY  33 

en  shoes  clatter.  It  makes  most  uncomfortable 
walking  for  the  foreigner  accustomed  to  the 
smoother  macadam,  or  asphalt  pavement.  In  this, 
however,  they  are  no  worse  than  many  streets  in 
the  city  of  Brooklyn,  which  are  as  badly  and 
roughly  paved  as  any  in  the  Netherlands.  In 
Holland  the  conditions  are  made  still  worse  for 
the  footfarer  by  the  utter  absence  in  most  cities  of 
sidewalks.  It  seems  as  if  those  who  had  the  lay- 
ing out  of  these  cities  were  influenced  by  the 
rough  experience  the  nation  had  in  its  progress 
through  the  centuries,  and  had  thought  it  fitting 
that  their  countrymen  should  be  kept  mindful  of 
this,  through  all  coming  generations,  by  their  own 
rough  passage  along  the  streets.  They  have  pur- 
posely misplaced  a  comma  in  the  quotation, 
"There  is  a  providence  which  shapes  our  ends, 
rough  hew  them  as  we  may,"  and  made  it  read, 
"There  is  a  providence  which  shapes  our  ends 
rough,  hew  them  as  we  may."  Still  in  some  Hol- 
land cities  asphalt  is  taking  the  place  of  cobble- 
stones, and  these  equal  the  best  of  such  roadways 
anywhere. 

Whatever  the  pavement,  however,  the  streets 
are  everywhere  kept  scrupulously  clean.  Some 
day  in  every  week  the  industrious  housewives,  or 
servant-girls,  may  be  seen  at  a  regular  hour  in  the 
morning — a  time  as  unvarying  as  the  march  of 
the  planets — with  water  and  brooms,  (brooms 
made  of  twigs),  scouring  the  pavement  until 
every  particular  cobblestone  shines  as  if  polished 
by  hand.  Each  of  the  scrubbing  contingent  takes 
exactly  one-half  of  the  street.    The  buckets  used 


34  THE  HOLLAND 

are  frequently  handsome  cedar  pails,  whose  hoops 
of  brass  shine  like  burnished  gold. 

Agriculture. — It  would  be  difficult  to  find  any- 
where better  cultivated  and  more  productive 
farms  than  in  the  Netherlands.  The  crops  are 
much  the  same  as  in  America;  but  the  Dutch 
farmer,  like  his  brother  farmer  in  England,  seems 
to  be  able  to  get  more  from  an  acre  than  is  com- 
mon with  agriculturists ;  and  there  is  not  a  prod- 
uct he  cultivates,  but  his  industry,  care  and 
skill  bring  it  to  the  utmost  perfection.  This  is 
due  largely  to  the  attention  paid  by  the  govern- 
ment to  agriculture,  and  the  careful  experiments 
made  and  instruction  given  by  skilled  specialists. 
The  wheat  of  Zeeland,  at  one  time,  vied  with 
the  best  of  the  Polish  or  Russian  red,  the  two 
together  producing  the  finest  loaves  and  rolls. 

While  the  larger  fruits,  such  as  apples  and 
pears,  do  not  generally  equal  the  American  in  va- 
riety, beauty,  or  flavor,  in  the  smaller  fruits,  seen 
in  the  markets,  or  peddled  along  the  streets,  one 
will  find  finer  and  more  luscious  specimens  than 
ever  tickled  the  palate  elsewhere.  This  is  partic- 
ularly true  of  cherries  and  raspberries.  Of  the 
latter  they  produce  some  of  enormous  size  and 
of  a  splendid,  deep  color;  while  of  the  former 
those  raised  in  largest  quantities  are  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Tiel,  in  the  province  of  Utrecht. 

Floriculture. — Great  masses  of  flowers  give 
special  beauty  to  the  fields  in  some  parts  of  the 
Low  Countries,  particularly  those  in  the  vicinity 
of  Haarlem.  Here,  from  earliest  spring  to  latest 
fall,  the  goddess  Flora  dips  her  pencil  in  ever- 


OF  TO-DAY  35 

varying  hues,  and  decks  the  fields  from  horizon 
to  horizon  with  every  charm  of  her  many-colored 
treasures.  Throughout  the  three  seasons,  so  long 
as  sun,  air  and  soil  can  combine  to  sustain  growth, 
the  fields  are  rich  with  bright  hues  and  odorous 
with  that  fragrance  which  is  wedded  to  beauty. 
Beginning  with  the  crocus  in  the  spring,  it 
is  no  sooner  gone  than  the  many-colored  bells  of 
the  clustered  hyacinths  follow;  these  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  the  equally  varied  tulip,  from  the  purest 
white  to  the  deepest  red-brown,  almost  black. 
These  again  are  followed  in  the  order  of  the  sea- 
son by  masses  of  lilies,  geraniums,  roses,  gladiolas, 
chrysanthemums  and  cosmos,  the  latter  the  flower 
that  by  its  delicate  foliage  and  exquisite  tints 
seems  to  bring  consolation  for  the  loss  of  all  the 
floral  wealth  that  the  dying  year  carries  with  it 
to  its  grave,  and  the  promise  of  a  coming  revival 
of  all  that  the  generous  sky  and  soil  can  produce. 
In  this  section,  also,  flowering  shrubs,  among 
which  the  rhododendron  is  conspicuous,  are  raised. 
Bulbs  form  no  insignificant  article  among  the 
exports  from  the  Netherlands.  Of  all  flowering 
plants  the  tulip-bulb  has  always  been  the  most 
valuable  to  Holland.  During  the  famous  tulip 
craze  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  one  single  bulb 
was  sold  for  the  fabulous  sum  of  $20,000.  The 
story  goes  that,  during  the  time  of  that  mania,  a 
sailor  once  almost  created  a  riot  in  the  market- 
place of  Haarlem  by  taking  a  tulip-bulb  from  a 
stand,  and,  mistaking  it  for  an  onion,  deliberately 
peeling  it.     He  would  have  gone  on  with  his  ex- 


36  THE  HOLLAND 

pensive  lunch,  valued  at  hundreds  of  florins,  if  he 
had  not  forcibly  been  made  aware  of  his  mistake. 

Some  years  ago  a  new  tulip  was  named  "Abra- 
ham Lincoln,"  and  some  bulbs  of  it  were  pre- 
sented to  members  of  the  Holland  Society  of 
New  York,  who  brought  them  home  with  them. 
It  is  said  some  of  these  are  now  blooming  in 
many  American  gardens.  The  central  point  of 
this  great  flower  district  is  the  pretty  village  well 
named  Bloemendaal  (flowery  vale). 

Peat. — As  this  leading  national  fuel  will  be 
named,  a  brief  account  of  it  may  be  of  inter- 
est. The  peat  is  the  result  of  the  accumu- 
lation for  centuries  of  fibrous,  woody  vegetable 
matter,  in  bogs  and  marshes,  where  it  has  from 
time  to  time  settled  by  its  own  weight  in  a  suc- 
cession of  accumulating  layers,  and  become  more 
or  less  solidified.  In  Holland  its  greatest  deposits 
are  in  the  province  of  Drente,  where  the  city  of 
Hoogeveen  ("high  peat"),  forms  the  centre  of  the 
peat  district  and  industry.  Its  importance  as  a 
fuel  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  in  only 
thirty  years  time  some  3,790,000,000  bushels  of 
peat  were  dug  and  shipped,  which  paid  to  the 
government  in  internal  revenue  forty-nine  million 
florins,  equal  to  $20,000,000. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  peat,  one  lying  more  or 
less  deep  under  a  layer  of  moss,  the  other  directly 
on  the  surface.  In  both  cases  the  beds  are  of 
varying  thickness.  In  getting  at  the  first  kind,  the 
layer  of  moss  is  taken  off  and  spread  out  on  some 
distant  part  of  the  peat-field  to  dry.  From  this 
moss  a  fine  fibre  is  manufactured,  which  is  used 


OF  TO-DAY  37 

in  place  of  cotton  for  antiseptic  purposes  in  sur- 
gery. When  the  peat  is  reached,  it  is  found  to  be 
in  a  soft  state,  is  dug  out  and  carried  to  a  level 
place,  where  the  water  is  trodden  out  of  it  by  la- 
borers, and  the  mass  solidified.  For  this  purpose, 
small,  flat  boards  are  attached  to  the  peat,  and  the 
laborers  tramp  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  mass 
of  peat  in  regular  order,  until  all  the  water  has 
been  trodden  out.  In  this  way  that  is  done  at 
once  which  Nature  has  been  trying  to  accom- 
plish for  centuries,  but  has  been  thwarted  by  the 
continuous  accumulations  of  water  in  the  peat- 
beds.  This  operation  uj  lul  laborers  is  a  singu- 
lar and  interesting  sight.  When  the  water  is  all 
trodden  out,  the  peat  is  cut  by  sharp-bladed 
spades  into  oblong  blocks  or  bricks  of  a  uniform 
si/.e,  which  are  put  up  in  piles,  somewhat  as  fresh- 
ly-made brick  is  stacked  to  be  dried  by  the  sun  and 
wind.  The  other  kind  of  peat  is  found  lying  close 
to  the  surface,  and,  after  being  dug  out,  the  water 
is  pressed  out  of  it  by  machinery.  The  blacker 
and  finer  the  peat,  the  more  solidly  it  can  be 
pressed,   which  much   increases  its  value. 


CHAPTER  II 
The  People  and  Their  Customs 

The  Dutch  People. — From  the  country  with 
its  varied  objects  of  interest,  let  us  turn  now  to 
the  people  who  inhabit  it  and  their  characteristics. 

The  Dutch  are  the  descendants  of  four  hardy 
German  tribes,  the  Batavi,  the  Catti,  the  Kanani- 


38  THE  HOLLAND 

fates  and  the  early  Frisians;  also  of  Danes  (who 
remained  there,  as  in  England,  after  repeated  pi- 
ratical attacks  upon  the  coasts)  and  the  Salii.  The 
latter  dwelt  somewhere  in  the  present  provinces 
of  Groningen  and  Overyssel,  whence  they  went 
to  the  conquest  of  France,  and  there  introduced 
the  Salic  Law.  Like  most  European  peoples,  the 
Dutch  differ  in  size  and  complexion,  some  being 
tall  and  fair,  others  dark  and  comparatively 
short.  The  latter  complexion  is  found  most  fre- 
quently among  the  people  of  North  and  South 
Holland.  On  the  whole  they  are  fine-looking, 
some  of  the  women  being  considered  beautiful, 
particularly  those  of  the  province  of  Friesland. 
The  author  has  in  his  possession  the  picture  of 
a  four-year  old  Frisian  girl  that  would  take  the 
prize  anywhere  at  a  baby  show.* 

The  enterprise  of  the  people  is  sufficiently  de- 
monstrated by  the  great  undertaking  they  have 
carried  out.  Foremost  among  these  arc  the  bar- 
riers they  have  erected  against  their  ancient  ene- 
my, the  sea,  already  described,  and  the  vast  engi- 
neering works  constructed  to  facilitate  and  in- 
crease their  commerce  and  their  communication 
with  other  parts  of  the  world.  Among  the  tri- 
umphs of  their  engineering  enterprise  and  skill, 
not  the  least  is  the  great  railroad  bridge  at  Moer- 
dyk.  It  covers  a  length  of  one  and  one-half  miles, 
and  consists  of  fourteen  immense  arches,  resting 
upon  granite  piers. 

Hollanders  took  the  lead  in  North  Polar  expe- 
ditions, when  Barentz  and  Heemskerk  sought  a 

•It  is  reproduced  as  the  frontispiece  to  this  volume. 


OF  TO-DAY  39 

Northeast  passage  to  China  and  the  East  Indies. 
This  was  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  when  the  Hol- 
landers had  been  forbidden  by  Spain  to  sail  to 
those  distant  parts  of  the  world  for  the  purposes 
of  commerce.  They  sent  their  intrepid  seamen  to 
every  known  or  unknown  sea,  some  of  them  cir- 
cumnavigating the  globe,  while  others,  like  Schou- 
ten,  Tasman  and  Van  Diemen  discovered  New 
Holland,  now  called  Australia,  New  Zealand, 
Tasmania  and  Van  Diemen's  Land.  New  York 
city  and  state  owe  their  origin  to  the  Hendrik 
Hudson  whom  they  sent  out  on  his  voyage  of  dis- 
covery. Wherever  their  great  enemy,  Spain,  had 
forbidden  them  to  carry  their  ships,  they  boldly 
struck  out,  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  and 
created  a  commerce  that,  even  before  they  had 
been  recognized  as  an  independent  people,  covered 
every  sea  with  the  tri-colored  flag,  and  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  East  and  West  Indian  com- 
panies gave  them  the  rich  possessions  of  the  East 
Indian  Archipelago,  and,  for  a  number  of  years, 
made  them  masters  of  Brazil.  Their  commerce 
to-day  takes  high  rank  with  that  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced nations. 

Their  indomitable  courage  has  been  illustrated 
again  and  again,  from  the  time  that  Caesar  created 
his  trusted  and  faithful  Ratavian  legion,  through 
the  almost  ceaseless  wars  that  devastated  the  land 
during  the  reign  of  the  several  independent 
Counts,  and  that  were  brought  upon  them  by  the 
houses  of  Burgundy,  Bavaria  and  Austria,  which 
in  turn  ruled  and  oppressed  them.  No  people 
ever  showed   more  persistent  heroism   than   that 


40  THE  HOLLAND 

shown  by  the  Netherlanders  in  their  life-and- 
death  struggle  for  civil  and  religious  liberty 
against  the  intolerable  tyranny  of  Charles  V.  and 
his  son  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  a  war  lasting  for 
eighty  long  years,  beginning  on  the  twenty-third 
of  May,  1568,  and  only  ending  on  January  30, 
1648,  when  Spain  was  forced  to  recognize  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Republic  of  the  Seven  Prov- 
inces. Then  the  new-born  but  vigorous  nation 
became  a  power  whose  hand  and  influence  were 
felt  by  the  mightiest  kingdoms  of  Europe.  That 
this  characteristic  has  not  been  lost  in  their  de- 
scendants was  demonstrated  in  the  past  century 
011  the  fields  of  Quatre  Bras  and  Waterloo,  on 
which  latter  it  was  largely  owing  to  the  steadfast, 
unyielding  courage  of  the  Dutch  troops  under  the 
Prince  of  Orange  that  Wellington,  according  to 
his  own  testimony,  was  able  finally  to  defeat  the 
boasted  Conqueror  of  Europe.  In  still  later  days, 
it  has  been  shown  again  and  again  in  the  repeated 
contests  with  the  treacherous  Achinesc  on  the 
northwest  coast  of  Sumatra,  and,  only  a  couple 
of  years  ago,  during  the  war  waged  by  England 
against  the  Boers.  This  trait  has  enrolled  upon 
the  nation's  scroll  of  fame  a  long  list  of  names 
second  to  none  possessed  by  any  nation ;  names  of 
men  who,  in  military  or  naval  warfare,  have 
gained  undying  renown  wherever  their  deeds  are 
known. 

Their  honesty  used  to  be  proverbial.  A  Dutch 
merchant's  word  was  considered  as  good  as  his 
bond.  Now,  alas!  as  a  result  of  a  decadence  in 
public  morals,  peculation  has,  at  times,  been  rife. 


OF  TO-DAY  4i 

And  yet,  when  gross  dishonesty  has  been  practiced, 
it  has  often  been  in  consequence  of  foreign  evil  ex- 
ample. This  was  illustrated  by  the  effect  on  the 
people  at  large  after  the  French  Revolution.  A 
more  sad,  and,  to  Americans,  more  humiliating, 
illustration  is  found  in  the  fact  that  embezzlement 
in  the  Netherlands  is  called  "Americanizing." 
There  was  a  time,  however,  and  it  is  not  entirely 
past,  when  a  Dutchman  was  faithful  to  his  word 
even  at  the  peril  of  his  life.  Two  notable  exam- 
ples of  this  are  the  following: 

The  first  is  that  of  Albrecht  Beylinck,  who, 
during  a  protracted  civil  war,  was  in  command  of 
the  city  of  Schoonhoven,  when  it  was  besieged  by 
an  arnw  of  the  opposite  party.  After  a  long  and 
obstinate  defence,  the  city  was  compelled  to  sur- 
render on  honorable  conditions.  These  were 
granted,  although  only  with  the  proviso  that  the 
commander  of  the  town  should  be  given  up  as 
a  prisoner.  To  this  Beylinck  himself  agreed, 
while  knowing  full  well  that  he  would  lose  his 
life  as  well  as  his  liberty.  When  he  was  taken, 
he  was  condemned  to  be  buried  alive.  Beylinck, 
too  proud  to  plead  with  the  enemy  for  grace,  or 
for  a  change  of  his  cruel  sentence,  merely  asked  for 
postponement  of  its  execution  till  he  could  go  to 
Gouda  to  settle  up  his  affairs.  This  was  granted 
on  the  promise  that  he  would  return.  He  went, 
and,  when  his  affairs  at  home  were  arranged,  re- 
turned according  to  his  word,  and  the  sentence 
was  carried  out  to  the  letter. 

The  other  instance  is  that  recalled  by  a  painting 
in  the  National  Museum  at  Amsterdam.     It  tells 


42  THE  HOLLAND 

the  story  of  the  self-sacrifice  and  fidelity  to  his 
pledged  word  of  a  Reformed  minister,  the  Rev. 
Antonius  Hambroeck,  and  is  connected  with  this 
episode:  In  1666,  the  island  of  Formosa,  then  a 
Dutch  posesssion,  was  attacked  by  the  Chinese. 
Their  commander,  whom  the  historian  calls  Cox- 
inga,  had  made  a  prisoner  of  the  above  named 
minister,  who  was  chaplain  of  the  Dutch  fort 
Zeelandia  on  that  island;  and  justly  fearing  that, 
from  that  fort  as  a  starting  point,  the  East  India 
Company  might  recover  possession  of  the  island, 
he  sent  the  chaplain  into  the  fort  with  proposals 
that  he  hoped  would  induce  its  commander,  Goy- 
et,  to  evacuate  the  place,  making  the  minister 
promise  to  return  to  the  Chinese  camp  if  he  were 
unsuccessful.  But  the  Dutch  commander  scorn- 
fully rejected  the  proposals  of  the  Chinaman,  and 
the  minister,  though  well  aware  of  the  fate  that 
awaited  him,  returned  and  was  beheaded.  The 
painting  represents  the  heroic  preacher  in  the  act 
of  bidding  his  family  and  comrades  farewell  as 
he  goes  to  his  doom. 

The  Netherlander  is  generally  reserved  and 
punctilious.  In  the  former  characteristic,  he  re- 
sembles somewhat  his  island  neighbor  of  England. 
Though  among  friends  he  may  carry  his  heart  on 
his  sleeve  and  often  be  too  confiding,  with  stran- 
gers he  is  apt  to  hold  himself  aloof,  and  does  not 
seem  to  believe  in  the  too  strict  application  in 
every  way  of  the  Apostolic  injunction,  "Be  not 
forgetful  to  entertain  strangers."  Long  and  un- 
profitable experience  with  persons  from  other 
lands  has  rather  fortified  than  weakened  this  dis- 


OF  TO-DAY  43 

position.  This  characteristic  may  furnish  one 
reason  why  Dutchmen  are  so  often  described  as 
phlegmatic ;  a  characterization  again  and  again 
contradicted  both  in  their  multitudinous  fights  by 
land  and  sea  and  in  their  public  amusements. 
While  not  so  volatile  as  their  southern  neighbors, 
the  Belgians,  or  as  the  French,  they  are  as  capable 
of  being  aroused  to  patriotic  ardor  or  enthusiasm 
for  art  in  any  of  its  forms  as  other  peoples. 

Their  passions  also  can  break  forth  with  a  vio- 
lence all  the  greater  because  generally  kept  under 
such  restraint ;  like  some  volcanoes,  whose  erup- 
tions are  the  more  terrific  as  the  fires  within  them 
have  had  the  longer  time  to  prepare  for  the  out- 
burst. Proofs  of  this  were  given  when  the  furi- 
ous mob  at  The  Hague  massacred  the  brothers  De 
Witt,  and  when  violent  feuds  have  broken  out 
with  murderous  violence  between  the  soldiers  of  a 
garrison  and  the  sailors  of  some  man-of-wTar  on 
shore-leave. 

The  classes  above  the  laboring  ranks  are  very 
punctilious  in  regard  to  social  etiquette,  carrying 
this  to  a  ludicrous  extreme.  The  exactions  aris- 
ing from  it  on  the  part  of  those  of  superior  so- 
cial rank  are  apt  to  chafe  one  who  has  been  ac- 
customed to  move  in  a  freer  atmosphere,  and  in 
whom  Burn's  dictum,  "A  man's  a  man  for  a' 
that,"  is  more  fully  felt  and  followed  in  practice. 
Their  ideas  of  what  is  dignified  or  becoming  in 
the  members  of  certain  professions  are  frequently 
quite  peculiar,  and  seem  to  an  American  amus- 
ing and  contradictory.  A  minister  of  the  gospel, 
for  instance,  or  a  schoolteacher,  who  should   be 


44  THE  HOLLAND 

seen  rowing  or  sailing  in  public,  would  be  likely  to 
be  severely  criticized  and  censured  by  the  church 
or  school  authorities,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
visit  a  public  garden  and  there  smoke  a  cigar,  or 
drink  a  glass  of  wine  or  beer,  would  not  affect  his 
dignity  in  the  least,  so  far  as  public  opinion  goes. 

Dress  of  the  Natives. — It  is  doubtful  if  in  any 
other  civilized  country  such  a  variety  of  costumes 
may  be  found  as  in  the  Netherlands.  That  of  the 
city  people  differs  little  from  our  own,  resembling 
much  more  our  American  styles  than  the  dress  of 
the  better  classes  in  England  or  Germany.  These 
latter  countries,  by  a  sort  of  tacit  revolt  against 
the  autocratic  control  of  fashion  in  Paris,  seem 
to  have  set  up  a  style  of  their  own,  particularly 
in  the  dress  of  the  men,  so  that  in  a  mixed  crowd 
of  foreigners  of  the  better  class  it  is  quite  easy  to 
distinguish  an  Englishman  or  a  German  b}r  the 
shape  of  his  hat,  or  the  cut  of  his  coat.  In  Hol- 
land, on  the  other  hand,  while  not  slavishly  fol- 
lowing the  dictates  of  Parisian  fashion  plates,  they 
have  adopted  styles  which  more  nearly  resemble 
the  cut  ordained  by  the  French  goddess  of  fashion. 
One  might  easily  mistake  some  of  the  leading  mer- 
chants and  men  of  affairs  there  for  either  French- 
men or  Americans.  The  same  observations  apply 
largely  also  to  the  matrons  and  maidens  of  Dutch 
cities. 

There  are  certain  classes  even  in  the  cities,  how- 
ever, whose  dress  wholly  differs  from  that  usually 
seen  among  us,  and,  indeed,  from  that  worn  any- 
where in  the  world.  This  is  the  peculiar  costume 
prescribed   for  the  orphans.      It  seems  as  if  the 


OF  TO-DAY  45 

managers  of  such  institutions  had  been  actuated 
by  the  cruel  idea  that  the  unfortunates,  who  have 
been  left  to  be  brought  up  by  the  cold  hand  of 
charity,  should  have  their  forlorn  condition  pro- 
claimed to  the  public  in  some  emphatic  form.  Each 
orphan  asylum  clothes  its  charity-inmates  in  a 
dress  of  particular  cut,  and  of  different  and  dis- 
tinguishing colors,  so  that  by  it  one  can  at  once 
see  to  what  asylum  the  boy  or  girl  belongs.  In 
some  cities  the  dress  is  parti-colored,  one  side  be- 
ing dark,  the  other  light.  For  example,  in  Amster- 
dam one  may  see  orphans,  who,  as  you  look  at 
one  side  of  them,  are  dressed  in  red,  while  seen  on 
the  other  side  they  are  in  black.  With  such  a 
dress,  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  for  a  child  to  hide 
in  a  crowd  in  order  to  escape  from  the  rough 
usage  that  they  may  think  they  surfer  in  the  asy- 
lum. Mow  those  who  have  outgrown  their  child- 
hood in  those  institutions  must  long  for  the  time 
when  these  badges  of  misfortune  can  be  thrown 
aside ! 

Apart  from  these,  and  the  occasional  servant- 
girl  who  retains  the  peasant  costume  of  her  own 
section,  there  is  little  in  the  popular  dress  of  the 
cities  that  would  remind  one  of  being  in  a  strange 
country.  But  as  soon  as  one  leaves  the  limits  of 
any  city,  such  reminder  meets  him  on  every  hand. 
Xot  only  has  each  province  a  peasant  costume  pe- 
culiar to  itself,  but  each  district,  or  department  of 
a  province,  and  each  island,  distinguishes  its  peas- 
antry in  this  way.  This  applies  especially  to  the 
provinces  cut  up  by  rivers  or  by  arms  of  the  sea. 
Zeeland,  for  instance,  is  cut  up  into  a  number  of 


46  THE  HOLLAND 

islands  by  the  broad  arms  that  form  the  delta  of 
the  Scheldt.  Each  island  of  Zeeland  has  a  style 
of  dress  entirely  its  own ;  one  that  is  never  modi- 
fied by  that  prevailing  on  the  other  side  of  its  wa- 
tery boundary. 

The  peasant  dress  in  some  sections  is  rich  and 
becoming,  particularly  that  of  the  women,  while 
in  other  parts  it  is  grotesque  and  bizarre.  The 
handsomest  and  most  picturesque  styles  are  most- 
ly found  in  the  provinces  of  Friesland  and  North 
Holland.  In  these  the  precious  metals  play  a  con- 
spicuous part,  notably  in  the  adornment  of  the 
head ;  for  the  skull  of  the  wearer  is  covered 
by  a  closely  fitting  cap,  or  helmet,  of  either 
gold  or  silver,  according  to  the  wealth  of  the 
wearer.  It  is  entirely  plain,  and  is  often  an  heir- 
loom that  is  handed  down  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration. It  generally  wholly  hides  the  hair,  al- 
though in  some  cases  a  tress  is  permitted  to 
hang  out  on  each  side.  Over  this  is  worn 
a  lace  hood,  often  of  exquisite  workman- 
ship, the  flaps  of  which  hang  gracefully  down  to 
the  shoulders.  When  this  head-gear  frames  a 
beautiful  face,  it  makes  as  charming  a  picture  as 
one  will  find  under  any  sun. 

For  a  complete  contrast  to  this,  one  has  only 
to  cross  the  Zuyder  Zee  to  the  Island  of  Marken, 
where  may  be  seen  the  most  bizarre  costumes  to 
be  found  among  civilized  men.  When  the  stran- 
ger looks  at  the  wide  puffing  breeches  of  the  men, 
their  short  jackets,  coming  almost  to  the  arm  pits, 
and  their  yellow,  square-cut  hair,  he  instinctively 
asks  whether  these  can  belong  to  the  same  people 


OF  TO-DAY  47 

from  among  whom  have  come  some  of  the  great- 
est heroes  and  most  skilful  magicians  with  the 
brush  and  color  that  any  nation  has  produced.  In 
still  other  sections  one  will  find  among  the  peas- 
ants the  knee-breeches  and  low  shoes  adorning  the 
sturdy  legs  of  the  men,  while  both  breeches  and 
vests  are  enriched  with  silver  or  gold  buttons. 

Gold  and  Silver  Dress  Ornaments. — Often  the 
waistband  is  covered  with  a  row  of  silver  buttons, 
the  size  of  large  medals,  the  centre  being  the  larg- 
est, the  others  diminishing  in  size  to  right  and 
left.  They  are  beautifully  engraved  or  chased. 
The  vest  of  the  rich  farmer  frequently  has  a  row 
of  gold  filagree  buttons,  as  finely  wrought  as  any 
work  that  ever  came  from  the  deft  fingers  of  a 
Hindu  goldsmith.  The  author  met  one  of  these 
farmers,  a  dealer  in  cattle,  in  the  Zeeland  island 
of  Tholen,  who,  when  a  guest  once  at  a  dinner 
given  by  some  merchants  in  London,  was  seated 
next  to  a  "great"  lady,  who  so  strongly  admired 
his  row  of  splendid  buttons  that  she  offered  to 
buy  one  of  them.  The  Zeeland  farmer  refused 
to  sell  for  any  consideration;  but,  with  a  polite- 
ness that  would  hardly  have  been  looked  for  in 
one  of  his  class,  after  he  had  noticed  the  fair  lady's 
chagrin  and  disappointment,  he  took  out  his  pen- 
knife and  cut  off  one  of  the  coveted  buttons.  As 
he  handed  it  to  her  with  a  courteous  bow,  he  said 
that,  while  he  could  not  sell  one  of  the  articles,  he 
begged  the  privilege  to  make  a  present  of  it  to  her, 
requesting  that  she  would  keep  it  as  a  souvenir  of 
the  occasion. 

One  peculiarity  about  the  peasant  dress  is  that 


48  THE  HOLLAND 

no  distinction  is  made  in  the  style  as  regards  the 
age  of  the  wearer;  father  and  son,  mother  and 
daughter,  are  dressed  exactly  alike,  the  only  dif- 
ference being  in  the  gold  or  silver  ornaments,  for 
which  the  children  are  disqualified. 

The  ornaments  for  the  head  and  face  differ  as 
much  in  the  various  sections  as  the  costume.  In 
some,  the  women  wear  an  engraved,  golden  plate, 
somewhat  in  shape  like  a  flattened  shoehorn,  ex- 
tending over  a  little  more  than  one-half  of  the 
forehead.  At  the  cheeks,  by  the  ears,  there  pro- 
jects on  each  side  a  twisted  ornament,  like  a  partly 
uncoiled  wire  spring,  usually  of  fine  yellow  gold, 
from  which  again  are  suspended  other  ornaments, 
often  in  the  shape  of  the  inside  of  the  flower  we 
call  "bleeding  heart,"  the  end  of  it  being  finished 
with  a  pearl.  In  other  sections  this  cheek  orna- 
ment has  peculiar,  square,  flat  projections,  stand- 
ing out  like  the  blades  of  a  propeller.  The  neck- 
laces are  either  of  carnelian  or  garnet,  there  be- 
ing frequently  four  rows,  held  together  by  beau- 
tifully wrought  clasps,  the  centre-piece  of  which 
is  barrel-shaped  and  of  delicate  openwork.  This 
kind  of  neck  ornament  is  worn  also  by  many 
women  in  the  cities,  although  there  the  gold  neck- 
laces are  frequently  a  succession  of  flat  links.  Once 
a  young  girl  kindly  removed  her  necklace  for  the 
author  to  examine.  It  consisted  of  a  string  of 
one  hundred  and  one  finely-cut  garnets,  strung 
on  silver  thread,  with  a  lock  of  delicate  filigree 
gold  in  barrel-shape,  set  with  twelve  garnets 
around  its  greater  circumference,  which  again  was 


OF  TO-DAY  49 

attached  to  two  smaller  openwork  barrels  of  gold, 
that  connected  the  lock  with  the  necklace. 

Two  things  in  the  dress  of  the  peasant  girls  dis- 
tinguish them  from  their  sisters  in  the  cities,  name- 
ly, the  superabundant  quantity  of  heavy  skirts,  or 
petticoats,  and  the  very  short  sleeves.  The  sleeves 
usually  stop  at  the  elbow,  leaving  the  well- 
rounded,  lower  arm  bare,  and  rendering  them,  by 
exposure  to  the  weather,  as  deep  in  color  as  the 
rich-tinted  cheeks. 

The  hats,  both  of  the  male  and  female  portions 
of  the  population,  make  a  significant  mark  by 
which  to  distinguish  the  peasantry  of  the  different 
provinces.  Even  different  pursuits  or  occupations 
are  distinguished  in  some  sections  by  the  shape  of 
hat  worn  by  men  and  women.  In  some  of  the 
northern  and  southern  provinces  the  stiffly 
starched,  ruffed  cap  has  been  a  prevailing  fashion 
among  the  women,  some  of  them  having  large, 
flaring  sides,  while  others  clasp  head  and  face  in 
a  close  embrace.  The  women's  hats  in  some  sec- 
tions are  little  more  than  stiff,  truncated  cones, 
open  at  the  side  which  goes  over  the  head,  fitting 
close,  and  without  any  projection  to  protect  the 
face  against  wind  and  sun.  Others,  again,  are 
large,  flat  bonnets,  with  wide-spreading  rims.  The 
latter  are  worn  by  the  fish-peddlers  in  Zeeland, 
who  trip  along  from  town  to  town  with  a  gait 
resembling  the  waddle  of  ducks,  carrying  their 
loads  of  fish  in  large  baskets  suspended  from  the 
ends  of  a  yoke  carried  upon  the  neck.  Under 
any  style  of  hat,  the  stiff  cap  is  usually  worn,  com- 
pletely hiding  the  hair,  the  Dutch  peasant  women 


50  THE  HOLLAND 

having  apparently  been  trained  for  generations  to 
disregard  this  part  of  womanly  beauty.  A  young 
suitor  would  have  a  difficult  job  to  surreptitiously 
cut  off  a  lock  of  hair  from  the  head  of  his  lady- 
love. The  city  girls,  however,  made  up  for  this 
lack  on  the  part  of  their  country  sisters  by  culti- 
vating as  fascinating  braids,  or  curls,  as  ever  any- 
where captivated  the  hearts  of  youth  of  the  oppo- 
site sex. 

Wooden  Shoes. — If  one  were  to  judge  from 
most  of  the  illustrations  in  our  books  and  maga- 
zines, the  conclusion  would  be  that  wooden  shoes 
of  the  old-fashioned,  sharp-pointed  pattern  were 
the  only  articles,  besides  stockings,  worn  in  Hol- 
land to  protect  the  feet.  They  are  worn  a  great 
deal,  to  be  sure,  by  laborers  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts, and  in  the  poorer  sections  of  the  cities,  but, 
even  by  these,  only  or  mainly  where  hard  and 
dirty  work  has  to  be  done,  or  when  roadways  are 
covered  with  snow  or  mud.  But  there  is  a  wood- 
en shoe  which  is  worn  in  winter  even  by  city  boys ; 
this  resembles  in  shape  a  common,  low  shoe,  is 
square-toed,  painted  black,  and  often  carved  on 
its  upper  front.  This,  with  a  lining  of  fine  straw, 
or  hay,  makes  a  most  comfortable  covering  for 
the  feet  during  the  wet  fall  or  in  the  winter 
months. 

His  wooden  shoe  frequently  serves  the  Dutch 
boy  as  a  formidable  weapon  in  the  many  battles 
which  those  of  different  quarters  of  a  town  wage 
with  each  other.  With  this  in  hand  as  a  club,  a 
boy  will  rush  at  another  and  deal  out  blows  that 
sometimes  result  in  badly  bruised,  if  not  broken, 


OF  TO-DAY  51 

heads.  They  have  one  way  of  using  this  that 
proves  both  the  possible  savagery  and  dexterity 
of  the  Dutch  urchin ;  it  is  by  slipping  the  heel  of 
the  right  foot  out  of  the  wooden  shoe,  so  that  only 
the  toes  remain  inside,  and  then,  taking  a  step 
backward  with  the  left  foot,  hurling  the  wooden 
missile  (with  a  kick)  at  the  head  of  an  opponent. 
In  this  they  are  as  expert  as  a  Filippino  with  his 
bolo. 

Homes  of  the  People. — In  the  Netherlands,  as 
in  every  European  country,  the  dwellings  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  differ  from  those  of  the 
peasantry.  In  the  latter,  however,  there  are  not 
the  inconveniences  and  squalor  so  often  seen  in 
the  peasant  houses  elsewhere  in  Europe,  while  not 
a  few  of  them  have  interiors  that  have  often 
furnished  a  worthy  theme  for  the  brush  of  some 
artist.  The  city  houses  are  diverse  in  style,  some 
of  them  being  quite  elegant,  even  palatial,  partic- 
ularly those  of  the  middle  and  higher  classes. 
The  step-formed  gables,  so  often  found  in  pictures 
of  Dutch  houses  in  our  magazines  or  books  of 
travel,  are  most  numerous  in  the  city  of  Haarlem. 

The  most  fantastic  style  of  houses,  if  style  it 
can  be  called,  is  found  in  Rotterdam  and  Am- 
sterdam, and  in  the  older  parts,  particularly  in  the 
last-named  city,  many  of  these  houses  seem  to  be 
reeling  and  leaning  in  every  direction,  for  all  the 
world  like  a  lot  of  revelers  at  a  Dutch  Kermis. 
The  newer  parts  of  those  cities,  however,  are 
filled  with  elegant  residences,  pleasing  to  the  eye 
because  of  their  variety  of  stvle.     In  the  newer 


52  THE  HOLLAND 

sections  of  Rotterdam  not  one  monotonous  line 
of  buildings  is  to  be  found. 

The  country  residences  of  the  wealthier  burgh- 
ers and  of  the  nobility  are  also  occasionally  of  a 
beautiful  style  of  architecture,  while  some  of  them 
are  quaint  and  even  grotesque.  They  are  gener- 
ally built  near  some  river  bank,  or  canal,  though 
often  are  hidden  away  from  the  high-road,  or 
streams,  in  some  spot  full  of  the  music  of  the  de- 
lightful songsters  of  the  ancient  woods. 

To  each  of  these  summer  residences  some  par- 
ticular name  is  given,  expressive,  perhaps,  of  the 
owner's  object  in  seeking  a  retreat  there  from  the 
cares  of  office  or  labor.  These  names  are  some- 
times quaint  and  sometimes  rather  florid ;  e.  g., 
"The  Pearl,"  "Quite  Content,"  "Sweet  Rest," 
"Retreat  from  Care."  On  the  gateways  of  the 
country  residences  of  the  nobles  one  usually  finds 
their  coats  of  arms,  sculptured  or  in  metal,  with 
the  expressive  phrases  they  have  chosen  as  the 
mottoes  for  themselves  and  their  families. 

All  of  these  country  retreats  have  more  or  less 
extensive  gardens  and  parks,  which  are  artistically 
laid  out  and  beautifully  kept;  those  belonging  to 
the  wealthier  classes  have  their  green  and  hot- 
houses, in  which  the  finer  fruits  and  exotics  are 
raised,  and  parks  filled  with  deer,  and  with  birds 
of  gay  and  splendid  plumage,  among  which  pea- 
cocks and  the  different  varieties  of  pheasants  are 
conspicuous.  The  peacock  is  quite  a  common  bird 
on  most  of  the  farms  of  Holland. 

Bright  Doors  and  Door-knobs. — There  is  one 
thing  always   noticeable   about    the    Dutch   city 


OF  TO-DAY  53 

house  of  the  better  class,  and  that  is  the  lustre  of 
the  paint  on  the  front  doors  and  the  mirror-like 
brightness  of  the  door-plates,  knobs,  knockers  and 
bell-handles.  The  exquisite  gloss  of  the  paint 
would  make  most  of  our  painters  stare  with  envy, 
while  the  metal  work  is  so  constantly  polished 
that  it  shines  like  burnished  gold.  Even  where 
the  exterior  of  the  house  is  lacking  in  architec- 
tural beauty,  the  interior  makes  up  for  this  lack  in 
its  finished  elegance.  Frequently  the  paneling  of 
doors  and  wainscoting,  instead  of  being  uniformly 
rectangular,  is  ornamentally  curved  in  something 
akin  to  the  rococo  style.  The  paint  within  also 
glistens  as  if  highly  varnished ;  this  effect  is  pro- 
duced by  the  admixture  of  some  ingredient  giv- 
ing the  same  result  as  varnish  without  the  danger 
of  cracking.  Frequently  the  mantel-pieces  of  the 
rooms  are  adorned  with  paintings  of  scriptural, 
historical  or  romantic  signification.  They  are  set 
in  the  wall,  above  the  mantel  of  the  fireplace,  cov- 
ering the  entire  space  to  the  ceiling,  and  are  some- 
times set  off  with  companion-pieces  at  the  sides, 
or  with  ornamental  scroll-work. 

Dutch  Furniture. — The  furnishing  of  a  Dutch 
house  begins  at  the  outside,  and  of  such  the 
benches  at  either  side  of  the  front  door  and  the 
peculiar  looking-glasses  that  project  from  the 
front  windows,  constitute  the  main  parts.  These 
little  mirrors  are  hung  out  from  one  of  the  lower 
front  windows,  sometimes  also  from  the  upper 
ones,  when  more  than  one  family  occupies  a 
house.  They  are  suspended,  at  a  slight  angle, 
from  iron  arms  that  fit  in  sockets  fastened  to  the 


54  THE  HOLLAND 

window-frame,  one  on  each  side  of  the  window. 
They  are  veritable  looking-glasses,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  looking  into,  but  of  looking  by  means 
of.  They  are  called  by  a  most  appropriate  name, 
spionnen,  (spies),  for  by  their  means  anyone  sit- 
ting behind  the  lace  curtain  of  the  window  can 
spy  out  all  that  is  passing  in  the  street,  either  up 
or  down.  Sometimes,  midway  between  the  two 
side  ones,  another  spion  is  so  hung  as  to  give  to  the 
person  inside  a  view  of  one  calling  at  the  front 
door,  an  excellent  arrangement  to  prevent  the  re- 
ception of  an  unwelcome  visitor,  facilitating  the 
use  of  the  common  white  lie  of  "not  at  home." 

Much  of  the  furniture  is  of  mahogany,  so  high- 
ly polished  that  it  shines  like  a  mirror.  This  is 
also  the  case  with  the  metal  ware  in  the  different 
rooms,  each  article  shiningwith  a  lustre  one  would 
scarcely  look  for  in  the  baser  metals.  So  far  at 
least  as  outward  brilliancy  goes,  the  tidy  Dutch 
housewife  has  surpassed  the  efforts  of  the  old  al- 
chemists by  changing  common  metals  into  the  re- 
semblances of  silver  and  gold. 

Among  the  things  to  which  her  skilful  hands 
give  this  glitter  is  a  piece  of  furniture  called  the 
doofpot;  a  covered  metal  pot  used  for  the  keeping 
of  partly  burned  peat,  one  of  the  leading  articles 
of  fuel  in  the  Netherlands.  This  peat,  (turf,  as 
it  is  there  called),  is  sold  in  oblong  blocks,  each 
about  the  size  of  two  bricks,  put  one  on  top  of  the 
other.  When  this  is  burned  through,  but  not  con- 
sumed, it  is  taken  Out  of  the  fire  and  put  into  the 
doofpot,  the  tight-fitting  cover  is  put  on,  and  the 
coal  becomes  extinguished,    to    be    preserved    for 


OF  TO-DAY  55 

further  use.  The  pot  is  made  of  strong  sheet-iron, 
or  of  copper,  with  brass  handles  on  the  side,  the 
feet  and  the  knob  that  surmounts  the  cover  being 
of  the  same  metal.  The  dead  coals  preserved  in 
this  way  are  put  into  the  fire  again,  when  needed, 
and  make  a  slow  but  constant  heat  over  which  to 
cook  anything  needing  a  steady  fire  without  blaze. 
These  revived  coals  are  also  used  in  cold  or  damp 
weather  in  footstoves,  another  piece  of  furniture 
peculiar  to  the  Netherlands,  and  brought  over  to 
America  along  with  the  old-fashioned  bellows  by 
the  early  emigrants  to  our  shores.  It  is  a 
wooden  box  about  ten  inches  square  with  an  open 
front  and  perforated  top.  Into  this  is  placed  a 
small  open  earthenware  receptacle  to  hold  the 
coals.  It  is  now7  used  almost  exclusively  by  wom- 
en at  home  or  in  the  churches.  One  may  see 
pyramids  of  these  footstoves  piled  up  in  the  other- 
wise unused  spaces  of  many  houses  of  worship 
which,  until  recently,  were  wholly  destitute  of 
other  heating  appliances.  Except  here  and  there 
some  very  aged  man  or  invalid,  the  male  members 
of  the  congregations  do  not  share  in  this  article  of 
comfort.  When  one  remembers  that  the  churches 
are  wholly  without  carpets,  and  that  the  service  is 
frequently  of  three  hours  duration,  (the  sermon 
requires  at  least  one  half  of  that  period)  it  de- 
manded no  little  heroism  to  sit  through  it  all  with 
the  thermometer  near  the  zero-mark.  This  ap- 
plies especially  to  the  boys,  who  are  compelled  to 
sit  through  the  entire  service  by  the  side  of  their 
fathers.  Do  they  ever  rebel  ?  No ;  for  rebel- 
lion there  usually  brings  swift  retribution.    Nev- 


56  THE  HOLLAND 

ertheless  boys,  in  church  or  out  of  it,  have  a  way 
of  outwitting  parental  watchfulness  or  evading 
commands.  These  comfortable  footstoves  are 
looked  after  by  the  sexton  and  his  assistants,  who 
are  usually  some  members  of  his  own  family,  and 
are  furnished  to  the  women  at  one  cent  each. 

Peculiar  beds  are  found  almost  everywhere  in 
the  Netherlands.  They  are  made  in  an  alcove, 
built  in  between  two  adjoining  rooms,  or  into  the 
side  of  the  room.  If  between  adjoining  rooms,  it 
is  usually  enclosed  by  a  door  on  the  one  side  and 
a  partition  on  the  other;  otherwise  it  is  curtained 
off  by  hangings  of  chintz,  or  tapestry.  They  make 
on  the  whole,  comfortable  bedsteads,  so  deep  that 
it  is  next  to  impossible  for  a  sleeper  to  fall  out  of 
them,  even  if  he  should  be  tossed  about  by  evil 
dreams.  They  are  found  on  the  lower  floors 
mainly ;  the  bedsteads  on  the  upper  floors  being 
generally  like  modern  ones,  but  never  without  a 
canopy  above  them,  from  which  curtains  are  sus- 
pended, so  as  to  leave  the  sleeper  undisturbed, 
either  by  mosquitoes,  the  glare  of  the  night-lamp, 
or  the  too-obtrusive,  early  sun.  The  feather-bed 
cover,  so  common  in  Germany,  is  not  used  in  Hol- 
land. 

Dutch  heating  and  cooking  stoves  are  in  sev- 
eral respects  different  from  those  used  in  America, 
although  Yankee  ingenuity  and  skill  are  driving 
out  the  home-made  article.  The  ordinary  cooking- 
stove  consists  of  a  round,  cast-iron  firepot,  with  a 
long,  flat,  sheet-iron  body  set  at  right  angles  to  it, 
along  the  sides  of  which  are  fastened  iron  or  brass 
rods,  on  which  to  hang  small  articles  of  napery  to 


OF  TO-DAY  57 

dry,  and  at  the  same  time  to  prevent  the  slipping 
off  of  the  cooking  utensils. 

Furnace  for  Lighting  Pipes. — One  more  arti- 
cle of  furniture  particularly  Dutch  should  be 
mentioned.  This  is  the  comfoortje,  (the  little 
comfort),  a  name  which  at  once  calls  up  the  com- 
fortable gatherings  at  the  homes  and  clubs  of  the 
sociable  smokers.  It  consists  of  a  small  vase,  or 
beaker-shaped  vessel,  of  copper,  trimmed  with 
brass  into  which  part  of  a  live  coal  is  put  for  the 
lighting  of  pipes.  The  pipes  in  use  are  the  long, 
straight-stemmed  Gouda  pipes.  After  being  filled 
with  the  delicious,  long-cut  tobacco  imported  from 
the  Dutch  East  Indies,  the  pipe  is  turned,  bowl 
down,  upon  the  glowing  coal,  and  lighted  with- 
out the  spilling  of  any  part  of  the  precious  weed ; 
then  the  cover  of  fine  woven  wire  is  put  on,  and 
the  devotee  of  the  fragrant  plant  proceeds  to  en- 
joy its  gentle  intoxication.  The  cheapness  of 
matches  and  cigars,  however,  is  rapidly  sending 
this  comfortable  piece  of  furniture  into  limbo,  al- 
though there  still  are  clubs  where  the  long- 
stemmed  pipe  and  the  comfoortje  are  employed. 
In  such  clubs,  and  in  some  taverns,  a  rack  is  kept 
in  which  the  pipes  of  the  frequenters  are  laid,  each 
with  the  name  of  its  owner  or  his  number  on  it, 
and  each  having  its  own  place,  to  invade  which 
would  be  an  unpardonable  offense. 

Dutch  Home-Life. — A  description  of  the  homes 
of  the  people  of  Holland  calls  for  some  account 
of  their  home-life.  It  has  been  said  that  no  other 
language  has  an  equivalent  for  the  English  word 
"home,"  except  the  German,  which  has  the  word 


58  THE  HOLLAND 

heimath.  Though  the  Dutch  do  not  have  an 
equivalent  word,  the  spirit  of  the  word  they  pos- 
sess in  as  great  a  degree  as  any  other  people,  so 
that  their  less  significant  term  te  hitis,  means  for 
them  fully  as  much  as  our  word  "home."  This 
was  finely  emphasized  once  by  the  Dutch  poet 
Ten  Kate,  when  a  guest  at  a  feast  in  England. 
He  was  then  asked,  after  several  toasts  had  been 
given,  and  "Home,  Sweet  Home"  had  been 
played,  if  the  Dutch  had  a  phrase  equivalent  to 
"Home,  Sweet  Home."  The  poet  instantly  arose, 
moved  his  hands  through  his  hair  and  improvised 
these  lines,  (I  give  a  somewhat  free  rendering  of 
what  he  said  in  his  native  tongue)  : 

"Seek  for  bliss  not  in  the  circle 
Of  the  wide  world's  mighty  round  ; 
Home  alone  is  the  real  centre 
Where  true  happiness  is  found." 

The  Divine  ordainment  of  the  home  has  no- 
where been  more  fully  recognized  than  in  Hol- 
land. The  father  is  still  king  and  priest,  ruling 
the  house  with  strict,  but  kindly  and  loving  au- 
thority. Before  each  principal  meal,  breakfast, 
dinner  and  supper,  (besides  these  there  are  two 
other  refreshment  periods,  the  coffee-hour  in  the 
forenoon  and  the  afternoon  tea ;  but  these  are  not 
meals),  the  head  of  the  house  first  asks  the  Divine 
blessing.  This  amounts  to  far  more  than  our 
customary  short  grace,  being  more  like  the  prayer 
offered  at  our  family  worship,  of  which,  indeed,  it 
takes  the  place.  At  the  close  of  the  meal,  the  Bi- 
ble is  read ;  this  is  followed  again  by  a  prayer  of 
thanksgiving.  This  Bible  reading  is  not  a  haphaz- 


OF  TO-DAY  59 

ard  affair,  but  is  consecutive  and  connective,  the 
historic  and  prophetic  parts  being  read  at  break- 
fast, the  Psalms  at  dinner,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  evening. 

This  custom,  of  course,  is  current  mainly 
among  the  stricter  religious  classes  of  the  Protes- 
tants, and  to  those  whose  occupation  permits  the 
following  of  this  order;  mechanics,  laborers  or 
farmers,  even  when  religious,  having  no  time  for 
such  an  observance  except  at  the  evening  meal. 
The  custom  is,  unfortunately,  rapidly  on  the  de- 
cline, although,  even  among  the  most  liberal  sects, 
grace  at  meals  is  generally  observed. 

The  strict  and  yet  affectionate  nature  of  Dutch 
family  government  may  be  illustrated  by  a  couple 
of  interesting  anecdotes.  On  a  certain  occasion 
Queen  Wilhelmina,  when  a  young  girl,  had  some 
difficulty  with  her  servants  about  a  matter  in 
which  she  was  at  fault.  Upon  investigation  her 
mother,  the  Queen  Regent,  finding  that  her  child 
was  to  blame,  ordered  her  instantly  to  bed.  As 
it  was  long  before  her  usual  bedtime,  this  was  the 
severest  punishment  that  could  be  inflicted  upon 
her.  While  lying  in  bed  the  little  royal  witch 
concocted  a  scheme  of  revenge,  and  at  seven  the 
next  morning  she  went  to  her  mother's  bedroom, 
intending  to  make  her  realize  the  royal  authority 
of  her  daughter.  She  rapped  loudly  at  the  door. 
To  the  question.  "Who  is  there?"  she  replied, 
"The  Queen  of  Holland,"  in  as  authoritative  a 
tone  as  her  voice  could  command.  The  reply 
came  instantly,  "Why,  it  is  altogether  too  early 
for  a  reception  of  the  queen."     Disappointed,  but 


6o  THE  HOLLAND 

not  entirely  baffled,  she  waited  and  thought 
awhile,  then  rapped  again.  Now,  when  again 
asked  who  was  there,  she  answered,  "Your  Wil- 
helmina,"  whereupon  the  mother's  voice  at  once 
responded,  "Oh,  for  her  the  door  is  always  open !" 

The  son  of  the  author's  former  pastor  and  drill- 
master  in  the  Catechism,  the  Rev.  Charles  Ter- 
nooy  Apel,  when  candidate  for  a  pastorate,  had 
been  to  a  certain  town  where  he  preached  a  very 
liberal  sermon.  This  was  reported  to  his  aunt  at 
Flushing,  who  was  as  strictly  orthodox  as  his  good 
father  had  been,  but  who  was  a  loving  mother  to 
Charles,  and  had  most  liberally  supported  him 
during  his  student  career.  On  his  return  to 
Flushing  she  gave  her  nephew  an  unusually  cold 
reception.  After  sitting  for  some  time  in  any- 
thing but  a  comfortable  mood,  he  arose  and  ex- 
tended his  hand  to  bid  his  aunt  good-bye,  when 
she  smote  him  with  the  words,  "With  such  a  lib- 
eral fellow  I  do  not  shake  hands!"  "All  right," 
answered  Charles,  "but  won't  you  kiss  me  good- 
bye then?"  "O  yes,"  she  cried,  "for  my  Charlie 
I've  always  a  kiss!" 

The  home  always  has  been  the  centre  of  family 
enjoyment.  In  it  music,  vocal  and  instrumen- 
tal, has  a  large  share,  though  in  the  presence  of 
strangers  even  accomplished  performers  are  apt 
to  be  restrained  by  natural  reserve.  The  leading 
instrument  was  formerly  the  pipe-organ ;  it  was 
the  usual  family  instrument,  as  well  as  that  for 
public  worship.  For  this  in  many  homes  a  special 
room  was  set  apart,  the  organ  standing  in  a  niche 
built  for  that  purpose,  and  the  room  being  always 


OF  TO-DAY  6 1 

designated  as  "the  organ-room."  The  piano  has  of 
late  taken  the  place  of  the  organ,  excepting  in  the 
churches.  Formerly  the  spinet,  or  clavier,  was 
used,  the  instrument  whose  ghost  ought  to  haunt 
everyone  who  libels  it  by  our  wretched  pronun- 
ciation of  clavc-yer,  instead  of  cla-veer,  with  the 
accent  on  the  last  syllable. 

The  winter  is  the  great  period  for  home  enjoy- 
ment. Then  the  different  circles  of  young  people 
meet  at  least  once  a  week  at  each  other's  houses 
in  turn,  to  spend  the  evening  in  amusing  and 
mirth-making  games.  In  these  games  the  heads 
of  the  house  frequently  take  part.  The  games 
played  are  such  as  all  present  can  participate  in, 
such  as  the  "Bell  and  Hammer,"  "Lotto,"  etc. 
Cards  are  usually  prohibited  at  these  gatherings. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  these  games  are  never 
played  without  some  stake,  though  always  a  very 
insignificant  one.  For  this  purpose  there  are  used, 
instead  of  chips,  the  cowrie,  a  small  shell  brought 
in  great  quantities  from  the  East  Indies.  The  cus- 
tom does  not  breed  gamblers. 

Watchmen  in  the  Cities. — Before  the  intro- 
duction of  a  regular  police  force  in  the  cities, 
every  town  had  two  kinds  of  watchmen,  the 
torenicachter  (tower-watch),  and  klepperman, 
(clapperman).  The  first  took  his  position  at 
nightfall  on  one  of  the  high  galleries  of  a  steeple, 
from  which  he  could  overlook  the  city,  and  give 
alarm  on  his  horn  at  the  breaking  out  of  a  fire. 
The  klepperman,  of  whom  there  were  as  many  as 
the  size  of  the  city  required,  carried  a  sabre,  and 
also  a  clapper,  or  rattle,  consisting  of  a  flat  board 


62  THE  HOLLAND 

of  resonant  wood,  through  the  centre  of  which 
the  handle  was  put,  with  a  movable  hammer  sus- 
pended from  its  end.  With  this  the  watchman 
beat  a  sort  of  tattoo,  at  the  same  time  that  he 
cried  out  the  hour.  Rat-tat-tat,  tat,  tat,  "One 
hour  has  the  clock,  the  clock  has  one."  This  cry, 
so  familiar  to  many  generations  of  Dutchmen,  is 
now  hushed  in  the  death  that  has  come  to  so 
many  old  customs  through  the  more  effective 
methods  of  modern  life. 


CHAPTER  III 
Outdoor  Amusements 

Outdoor  Games. — The  outdoor  games  of  boys 
and  girls  are  those  played  with  tops,  marbles  and 
hoops,  and  include  rope-jumping,  kite-flying,  boat- 
ing and  swimming.  Holland  boys  excel  in  the 
beauty  and  size  of  their  kites,  which  are  large  and 
are  ornamented  with  pretty  figures  cut  from  high- 
ly-colored glazed  paper,  while  sometimes  disks  of 
oiled  paper  are  inserted  in  the  upper  part  on  each 
side  of  the  central  stick  through  which  the  sun- 
light can  shine.  They  long  ago  had  the  tailless 
kite. 

The  boys  are  also  fond  of  pitching  marbles, 
cowries,  buttons,  broken  pieces  of  slate-pencils, 
and  even  pennies,  in  which  they  become  expert. 
This  game  is  played  in  some  place  where  a  circu- 
lar hole,  about  two  inches  deep,  can  be  dug  in  the 
ground.  It  is  played  by  two  players,  each  staking 
an  equal  number  of  the  articles  played,  which  are 


OF  TO-DAY  63 

either  laid  on  the  inside  of  the  fingers,  or  held  be- 
tween the  thumb  and  finger,  and  pitched  from  a 
measured  distance  into  the  hole.  Whatever  num- 
ber of  articles  used  is  pitched  into  the  hole  be- 
longs to  the  pitcher  for  "keeps."  However  much 
the  gambling  spirit  may  be  aroused  by  this  game 
in  the  Dutch  boys,  little  or  none  of  it  is  left  in 
them  when  they  attain  to  manhood.  Each  then 
seems  to  be  able  to  apply  to  himself  the  apostolic 
words,  "When  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  child- 
ish things." 

There  is  one  game  played  in  summer  that  could 
only  be  played  in  that  land  of  canals  and  ditches. 
When  the  weather  is  all  right  the  boys  go  out  in- 
to the  country  to  leap  ditches.  For  this  they  have 
frequently  a  long  pole,  called  polderstok,  which 
they  set  at  an  angle  into  the  ditch,  a  little  more 
than  half-way  across,  and,  taking  a  firm  hold  of 
the  upper  end,  swing  themselves  over.  This  not 
only  affords  amusing  exercise,  but  is  accompanied 
with  some  risk,  as  it  happens  sometimes  that  the 
leaper's  weight  drives  the  stick  so  far  into  the 
muddy  bottom  that  it  gets  stuck  there  and  leaves 
the  boy  suspended  in  mid-air. 

They  have  had  for  many  years  the  game  of 
baseball,  although  this  has  only  recently  been  mod- 
eled upon  the  American  plan,  which,  however,  it 
does  not  yet  equal  in  scientific  and  vigorous  char- 
acter. The  Frisians  are  reckoned  as  the  best  play- 
ers, and  frequent  matches  are  played  by  them  with 
teams  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  and  in  Bel- 
gium. Football  has  also  been  introduced  ;  but  in 
this  they  follow    the    English    rather    than    the 


64  THE  HOLLAND 

American  method  of  play.  A  Netherland  Foot- 
ball Union  was  organized  a  few  years  ago. 

The  game  of  hop-scotch,  called  by  the  Dutch 
hinkebaan,  (hopping  track),  said  to  have  origi- 
nated among  the  Phoenicians,  is  much  played. 
Tennis,  also,  was  known  very  early,  having  been 
introduced  by  the  Roman,  Claudius  Drusus,  who 
is  said  to  have  laid  out  the  first  tennis  court  in  the 
Netherlands,  although  it  was  not  then  played  ex- 
actly as  now.  This  game  is  called  in  Dutch 
kaatscn,  and  a  very  common  proverb  is  based  up- 
on it,  viz.,  "The  pitcher  must  expect  the  ball  to 
be  thrown  at  him  also,"  and  may  be  rendered,  as 
applied  to  jokers,  "He  that  plays  a  joke  must  ex- 
pect to  have  a  joke  played  on  him." 

One  game  played  by  every  boy  throughout  the 
Netherlands,  at  Eastertime,  is  cyertikken,  (egg- 
cracking).  A  full  week  before  Easter  the  boys 
begin  to  collect  eggs  and  boil  them  hard,  keeping 
their  supply  until  Easter  Monday,  when  the  sport 
begins.  They  are  usually  boiled  in  coffee  to  make 
them  brown,  or  in  beet-juice  to  turn  them  red. 
As  soon  as  the  boys  can  get  away  after  breakfast, 
they  sally  forth  with  such  a  supply  of  eggs  as 
their  pockets  will  hold,  and  challenge  the  first 
similarly  supplied  boy  to  the  "ticking."  Each  one 
tries  to  crack  the  larger  end  of  his  opponent's  egg 
with  the  smaller  end  of  his  own.  The  fun  comes 
in,  in  this  struggle,  to  get  the  best  of  each  other. 
Some  little  fellows  are  wide-awake  enough  to 
shake  their  eggs  before  boiling,  which  makes  the 
contents  settle  to  the  larger  part,  when  this  may 


OF  TO-DAY  65 

become  as  hard  as  the  smaller  end.  The  cracked 
egg,  of  course,  goes  to  the  cracker. 

The  Dutch,  while  generally  fond  of  all  games, 
are,  as  a  rule,  not  much  inclined  to  the  more  ex- 
citing sports.  There  are  horse-races,  but  these 
are  confined  mainly  to  country  fairs,  where  they 
are  indulged  in  with  little  skill,  but  with  an 
abandon  that  one  does  not  see  at  English  or  Amer- 
ican races.  The  participants  are  usually  farmers, 
who  put  their  heavy  horses  through  their  paces, 
but  out  of  it  sometimes  get  considerable  speed. 

The  craze  for  yacht-racing  has  struck  Holland 
with  considerable  force  during  late  years,  and  has 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  several  yacht 
clubs.  Such  races  are  not  confined  to  craft  of  a 
prescribed  pattern,  but  are  participated  in  by  any 
vessels  capable  of  entering  into  competition. 
Many  very  awkward-looking  sloops,  with  their 
round  bows  and  sterns,  and  with  sideboard  in- 
stead of  centerboard,  are  frequently  entered. 
These  sometimes  develope  a  most  surprising 
speed,  unwieldy  as  they  look.  But  the  main  en- 
tries are  the  trim  craft  usually  seen  on  such  oc- 
casions. The  race  this  year  (1905)  is  to  be  be- 
tween the  Dutch  and  Belgian  Clubs,  sometime 
between  June  1   and  September  30. 

Skating  in  Winter. — The  universal  national 
sports  are  those  which  winter  affords,  provided 
it  brings  a  sufficient  amount  of  cold  to  properly 
congeal  the  canals  and  rivers,  and  of  snow  to  cov- 
er streets  and  roads  to  a  proper  depth.  The  Hol- 
lander's skill  with  skates  is  equalled  in  few  coun- 
tries and  surpassed  nowhere.    And  with  good  rea- 


66  THE  HOLLAND 

son,  for  from  childhood  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  move  about  freely  on  the  narrow  blades  of  steel 
on  the  slippery  ice  as  readily  as  he  walks  the 
streets  of  his  town ;  and  winter  after  winter  he 
has  been  accustomed  to  skate  on  canal,  or  river, 
from  village  to  village. 

When  the  author  was  a  boy  there  was  a  curious 
method  of  ascertaining  the  sufficient  thickness  of 
the  ice.  It  was  practiced  by  Jewish  boys,  who 
would  not  venture  on  the  ice  unless  they  could 
see  frozen  air-bubbles  underneath.  If  these  bub- 
bles were  not  there,  it  proved  that  the  ice  was  still 
thin  and  porous  enough  to  allow  the  bubbles  to 
rise  and  hang  on  the  undercrust.  As  the  ice 
thickened  these  bubbles  would  be  caught  and 
frozen,  and  give  assurance  that  the  ice  was  thick 
enough  to  bear  any  number  of  skaters. 

This  skill  has  often  stood  him  in  good  stead 
during  the  wars  that  his  country  had  to  wage, 
either  in  bearing  despatches,  in  escaping  from  the 
foe,  or  in  waging  battles  on  the  ice.  A  notable 
proof  of  its  value  in  the  latter  case  was  given 
during  the  early  years  of  the  revolt  against  Spain, 
toward  the  close  of  the  Sixteenth  Century.  A 
fleet  of  the  "Beggars  of  the  Sea,"  as  the  patriotic 
privateers  were  called,  was  frozen  in  near  the 
city  of  Naarden  on  the  Zuyder  Zee.  As  soon  as 
the  Spaniards,  who  were  in  possession  of  Amster- 
dam, became  aware  of  this  they  sent  a  strong 
force  over  the  ice  to  capture  the  fleet.  When 
those  on  board  learned  of  it  a  number  of  the  best 
skaters  among  the  Beggars  volunteered  to  go  out 
to  meet  the  Spaniards.    They  took  along  no  weap- 


OF  TO-DAY  67 

ons  but  swords.  On  they  rushed,  while  the  can- 
non from  the  Beggar's  ships  fired  their  volleys 
over  the  heads  of  the  skaters  at  the  Spaniards.  It 
was  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  but  one  in  which  the 
heavily  armed  foes,  who  were  indifferent  skaters, 
were  no  match  for  their  swift-footed  assailants. 
In  a  very  short  time,  the  would-be-captors  were 
driven  from  the  field  and  pursued  to  within  sight 
of  the  city  they  had  left  a  short  time  before  with 
such  exultant  hearts  and  full  anticipations.  The 
returning  skaters  were  hailed  by  the  shouts  of 
their  comrades.  A  thaw  setting  in  the  next  day 
liberated   the   fleet. 

Wherever  there  is  any  skating,  baanvcgcrs 
(track-sweepers)  are  found  at  certain  points,  who 
hail  the  passing  skaters  for  pennies,  very  much  as 
crossing-sweepers  in  cities  formerly  demanded  toll 
from  each  crosser.  The  amount  expected  from 
each  skater  is  small,  to  be  sure,  but  the  practice  at 
one  time  became  so  annoying  that  the  Skating 
Club  of  Holland  tried  to  put  an  end  to  it  by  hir- 
ing its  own  sweepers  at  a  regular  wage.  Now,  for 
only  twenty-five  Dutch  cents  the  season,  one  can 
become  a  member  of  this  society,  and  have  free 
passage  along  the  entire  track  without  being 
stopped  or  annoyed.  These  useful  fellows  cease- 
lessly ply  their  brooms,  and  so  keep  the  track 
clear  and  smooth,  and  they  earn  all  they  get  in 
whatever  way  they  are  paid.  When  the  skaters 
are  all  gone  at  night,  holes  are  cut  here  and  there 
to  flood  the  surface,  so  that  the  frost  may  furnish 
a  smooth  track  for  the  following  morning.  For 
the  convenience  of  refreshment  of  these  skaters, 


68  THE  HOLLAND 

tents  are  set  up,  on  the  ice,  in  which  one  can  put 
on  the  skates  by  a  warm  stove  and  refresh  himself 
with  a  cup  of  hot  chocolate,  aniseed  milk,  and  var- 
ious kinds  of  cake. 

The  above  named  Club  also  has  posts  set  up  on 
the  ice  to  mark  the  way  and  to  indicate  places  of 
danger,  and  the  morning  papers  of  some  cities 
publish  what  trips  can  be  planned  for  the  day. 
In  some  sections,  races  are  arranged  for  the  poor, 
the  prizes  consisting  of  eatables  or  fuel.  The  com- 
petitors for  the  race  are  selected  from  the  families 
to  be  benefited.  If  the  family  has  no  one  able  to 
compete,  some  young  man  from  the  less  needy 
classes  will  fill  the  place,  and,  if  successful,  will 
hand  over  the  prize  to  the  party  he  represents. 

Skating  with  many  is  quite  a  fine  art,  and  there 
may  be  seen  all  sorts  of  arabesque  figures,  the 
writing  of  names  on  the  ice,  etc.  Others  seek  to 
excel  in  swiftness;  one  young  man  is  known  to 
have  covered  five  miles  in  four  minutes.  Yet 
neither  of  these  things  offers  as  fine  a  sight  as  to 
see  plain  but  rosy-cheeked  couples,  arms  linked,  in 
graceful,  swinging  motions,  now  to  the  right,  then 
to  the  left,  gliding  swiftly  over  the  glassy  field. 

The  great  danger  attending  skating  on  the 
canals  arises  from  the  numerous  bridges  crossing 
them.  These  are  often  so  low  that  one  needs  to 
stoop  well  to  pass  under,  or,  if  unobserved,  they 
are  likely  to  send  the  swift  mover  suddenly  on  his 
back,  sometimes  to  his  serious  injury.  The  skill 
acquired  on  the  ice  by  some  of  the  peasant  women 
is  unique.  One  sees  them  balancing  a  basket, 
containing  eggs  or  other  farm  produce,  on  their 


OF  TO-DAY  69 

heads,  while  at  the  same  time  they  are  scudding 
along   fearlessly. 

Sleighing. — Next  to  skating  comes  that  other 
delightful  and  universal  winter-sport  of  the  Dutch, 
sleighing.  One  species  of  this  amusement  is  un- 
known to  them ;  the  more  exciting  and  dangerous 
sport  of  coasting.  There  are  few  hills  in  Hol- 
land on  which  to  coast.  The  sleighs  used  by  the 
young  people  are  box-sleighs,  capable  of  seating 
from  two  to  four  persons.  These  are  of  two 
kinds,  the  principal  kind  being  rounded  at  the  front 
and  having  a  high  back,  which  curves  up  and 
backward,  somewhat  in  the  form  of  an  inclined 
question  mark  (?),  by  which  the  one  propelling 
the  sleigh  pushes  it  forward.  The  runners  pro- 
ject behind  for  some  distance,  so  that,  when  the 
pusher  has  sent  his  sleigh  forward  on  a  run,  he 
can  jump  on  them  and  let  the  sleigh  glide  on  for 
a  distance  by  the  momentum  given,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  give  himself  a  ride. 

In  the  use  of  some  of  the  sleighs  the  warlike  dis- 
position of  the  nation  crops  out  again.  Sometimes, 
when  a  number  of  sleighers  from  different  quar- 
ters of  a  city  (between  whom,  by  the  way,  there 
is  usually  a  feud  of  long  standing)  gather  on  a 
wide  street  or  market-square,  they  are  apt  to  butt 
into  each  other,  and  not  always  by  accident.  As 
a  protection  against  injury  from  this  source,  some 
sleighs  have  their  forward  part  armed  with  a  thick 
iron  bar,  terminating  in  a  knob,  firmly  fastened  to 
an  iron  band  attached  to  the  body  of  the  sleigh, 
ju^t  like  the  beak  of  an  ancient  Greek  galley. 
When  a  sleigh  like  this  comes  into  contact  with  an 


70  THE  HOLLAND 

opposing  one,  the  effect  is  apt  to  be  disastrous. 
It  often  proves  to  act  as  a  preventive  of  hostilities, 
just  as  a  well-armed  nation  is  most  likely  to  be 
left  at  peace  by  intending  foes. 

But  the  fun  is  not  all  of  this  savage  kind,  by 
any  means.  Great  enjoyment  lies  in  a  young  lad 
taking  a  couple,  or  two  couples,  if  the  sleigh  be  a 
two-seated  one,  of  his  best  girls,  for  a  moonlight 
sleigh-ride.  It  is  very  hard  work  for  the  lad,  but 
he  finds  a  rich  reward  in  the  smiling  eyes  of  his 
passengers,  particularly  when  he  is  permitted  to 
collect  his  fare  in  "the  coin  of  the  universal 
realm" — from  their  ruby  lips.  Sometimes  the  lad 
has  to  take  his  little  brothers  or  sisters  out ;  in 
this  he  never  finds  much  enjoyment. 

Another  kind  of  sleigh  used  by  the  young 
folks  of  Holland  is  called  the  prikslee,  which  is  a 
strong  box-sleigh,  with  two  long  handles  behind, 
held  together  by  a  cross-piece,  and  set  at  a  conve- 
nient angle.  This  seats  one  or  two  persons  only, 
and  is  mostly  used  on  the  ice.  It  is  of  simple  shape 
and  make,  such  as  any  handy  man  may  construct 
for  his  children.  Sometimes  it  is  quite  hand- 
some and  made  of  more  costly  material. 

Sleighs  drawn  by  horses,  used  mostly  by  the 
rich,  (except  those  large  ones  of  the  farmers  in 
which  the  whole  family  can  ride  to  church  or 
market),  are  often  handsome,  though  of  singular 
forms.  They  seat  one  person,  and  are  often  in 
shape  like  a  swan,  or  some  other  large  bird,  the 
curving  neck  and  projecting  head  forming  the 
front  of  the  sleigh.  The  neck  of  the  horse  is  hung 
with  bells,  while  another  bell  swings  above  his 


OF  TO-DAY  71 

head,  the  latter  being  in  an  ornamental  form,  of 
brass.  In  this  "my  lady,"  wrapped  in  thick  furs, 
is  driven  around,  while  her  driver  stands  on  the 
runners  behind,  and  from  there  guides  the  fleet 
pacer,  which,  perhaps,  gets  the  larger  share  of  the 
enjoyment. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Births,  Marriages  and  Funerals 

Birth  of  a  Child. — In  many  respects  the  gener- 
al customs  of  Hollanders  are  peculiar  to  the  na- 
tion, particularly  those  connected  with  the  three 
most  important  events  of  human  life — birth,  mar- 
riage and  death.  Nowhere  is  the  entrance  of  a 
new  mortal  into  the  world  attended  with  so  much 
ceremony  as  in  the  Netherlands.  As  soon  as  the 
child  has  come  into  visible  being,  the  public  is 
made  aware  of  the  fact,  not  only  by  announce- 
ment in  the  newspapers,  but  by  public  messenger, 
called  the  aansprekcr,  (the  announcer),  who  goes 
from  house  to  house  among  the  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances of  the  favored  family  to  carry  the 
news.  Every  passer-by,  who  may  stop  to  read,  as 
well  as  every  caller,  is  kept  informed  of  the  moth- 
er's condition  and  that  of  the  new  arrival  by  the 
posting  on  the  door  of  a  daily  bulletin.  And,  lest 
the  peaceful  slumbers  of  the  babe  might  be  dis- 
turbed, the  door-bell  is  carefully  muffled,  or,  if 
there  be  a  knocker,  a  cushion  is  placed  under  it. 

A  personage  of  almost  as  great  importance  in 
the  house  as  the  mother,  is  the  nurse.     She  is  for 


72  THE  HOLLAND 

the  time  being  the  pilot  of  the  domestic  ship,  the 
sole  autocrat  of  the  establishment.  The  moment 
she  arrives  she  at  once  takes  full  command,  and 
woe  betide  the  luckless  father,  or  other  relative, 
who  would  dare  to  disobey  her  behests,  or  dispute 
her  rights.  Not  even  the  all-dreaded  mother-in- 
law  then  dares  to  wag  the  tongue,  if  only  in  ad- 
vice. The  nurse  knows  all  that  ever  was,  or  can 
be  known,  about  any  part  of  her  business ;  every 
possible  requirement  for  the  child  or  mother,  sick 
or  well.  No  one,  from  the  paternal  head  to  the 
most  distant  relative  or  casual  acquaintance,  who 
crosses  the  threshold  of  such  a  home,  but  is  made 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  autocrat  of  the  nursery,  and 
that  not  in  the  small  coin  of  the  realm.  Woe  to 
the  visitor  who  would  either  dare  to  treat  her  with 
discourtesy  or  to  forget  the  customary  tip.  On 
the  next  call,  such  visitor  is  likely  to  be  haughtily 
and  utterly  ignored,  if  permitted  to  enter  the  sanc- 
tum at  all. 

This  custom  of  tipping  the  nurse  is  compensated 
by  another — the  serving  of  refreshments  to  every 
one  who  comes  to  offer  congratulations.  These 
consist  of  coffee,  or  chocolate,  with  well-buttered 
French  rolls,  which  are  covered  with  small  but 
toothsome  seed-candies,  somewhat  like  the  Scotch 
sugared  caraways  called  "carvies,"  (in  Holland 
euphemistically  called  "little  mice").  By  the  out- 
side appearance  of  these  candies,  the  visitor  is  at 
once  made  aware,  if  unknown  before,  of  the  sex 
of  the  infant;  if  it  is  a  girl,  by  their  smoothness; 
if  a  boy,  by  their  roughness.  In  addition  to  rolls 
and  chocolate,  the  visitor  is  served  on  these  occa- 


OF  TO-DAY  73 

sions  with  wine  or  liquor,  which  is  usually  a  mix- 
ture resembling  our  egg-nog,  and  called  by  the 
singular  name  advokaten  barrel,  (lawyer's  dram), 
the  reason  for  which  we  have  been  unable  to  dis- 
cover. Only  the  more  well-to-do  on  this  occa- 
sion serve  wine,  and  then  in  the  form  of  what  is 
called  kandeel,  being  a  mulled  wine,  mixed  with 
eggs,  sugar  and  cinnamon. 

Whether  the  person  most  directly  concerned 
shares  in  the  pleasure  thus  given  and  enjoyed  may 
well  be  doubted.  At  all  events,  when  one  sees 
the  manner  in  which  the  poor  little  wight  is  han- 
dled and  its  mode  of  dress  during  its  earliest  in- 
fancy, one  would  say  that  everything  was  being 
done  to  make  its  infantile  soul  most  bitterly  regret 
that  it  ever  made  its  appearance  among  mortals. 
From  the  moment  it  sees  the  light  of  day  it  is  put 
into  swaddling  clothes,  and  is  so  completely 
wrapped  up  in  them,  like  an  Indian  papoose, 
that  any  movement  of  arms  or  legs  is  made  impos- 
sible. Of  that  apparently  most  exquisite  delight 
to  the  infantile  soul,  next  to  that  derived  from  the 
vigorous  exercise  of  its  vocal  organs,  the  stretch- 
ing and  kicking  of  its  little  legs,  it  is  wholly  de- 
prived by  its  unnatural  bonds.  It  may  well  seem 
surprising  that  a  people  whose  infant  feet  have 
from  time  immemorial  been  thus  severely  re- 
strained should  ever  have  become  such  vigorous 
kickers  against  all  unlawful  restraint  and  oppres- 
sion. 

When  the  Dutch  child  is  released  from  these 
trammels  and  permitted  to  realize  that  it  possesses 
powers    of    locomotion,  it  still  is  provided  with 


74  THE  HOLLAND 

extraordinary  safeguards  against  possible  harm. 
That  it  may  not  tumble  in  taking  its  first  steps 
in  the  rough  path  of  life,  it  is  provided  with  a 
wooden  frame  on  rollers  or  casters,  by  which  to 
exercise  its  locomotive  energies;  and,  lest  it  then 
should  come  to  grief  by  the  possible  upsetting  of 
the  vehicle,  it  is  provided  with  a  cap,  with  thickly 
padded  and  projecting  top,  appropriately  called 
a  falhoed,  (falling-hat). 

This  ceaseless  and  punctilious  watchfulness  for 
the  welfare  of  the  child  follows  it  through  all  its 
childhood  days,  both  in  the  home  and  in  the 
school.  For  its  amusement  in  the  home,  toys  the 
most  ingenious  and  in  greatest  variety  are  pro- 
vided, often  the  product  of  the  deft  hands  of  the 
father;  while  at  school  the  eye  is  fed  and  the 
mind  delighted  by  whatever  can  relieve  the  monot- 
ony of  dry  study. 

Christening  of  Children. — Long  before  the 
school  period  has  been  reached,  however,  another 
event  has  taken  place,  that  occupies  a  most  impor- 
tant place  in  Dutch  home-life.  About  this  centres 
as  great  interest  as  about  the  child's  entrance  into 
life,  and  it  is  also  accompanied  with  considerable 
feasting.  The  stomach,  indeed,  is  considered  such 
an  important  part  of  the  human  organism 
throughout  Holland,  that  there  is  scarcely  any 
enjoyment  given  to  the  people  but  they  demand 
that  this  part  of  their  system  shall  be  duly  re- 
membered. The  christening  of  the  child  is  an- 
nounced a  week  beforehand,  the  announcement 
specifying  in  what  church  and  by  what  clergyman 
the  rite  is  to  be  administered,  and  then  comes  the 


OF  TO-DAY  75 

feast  of  christening.  Though  no  distinct  invita- 
tion is  given,  all  relatives  and  friends  are  made 
welcome  to  this  feast.  The  rite  is  usually  admin- 
istered on  a  Sunday  afternoon.  At  its  conclusion, 
all  retire  to  the  consistory,  except  the  parents,  to 
whom  the  minister  gives  a  final  word  of  admoni- 
tion ;  which  done,  all  return  to  the  house  of  the 
child's  parents.  Here  the  feast  is  spread,  and  when 
God's  blessing  has  been  invoked  by  the  clergy- 
men upon  both  the  feast  and  guests,  the  nurse 
brings  in  the  most  important  personage  of  the  oc- 
casion, and  either  herself  presents  it  to  each  of  the 
guests,  or,  if  a  godfather  or  a  godmother  be  pres- 
ent, puts  the  baby  into  the  latter's  hands,  who  in 
turn  passes  it  from  guest  to  guest. 

It  used  to  be  the  custom  in  well-to-do  families 
to  lay  a  photograph  of  the  child  by  the  plate  of 
each  guest  as  a  memento,  but  this  is  going  out  of 
vogue.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  nurse  is 
again  pretty  well  "tipped"  on  this  occasion. 

Marriage  Customs. — Let  us  suppose  that  the 
child  is  a  boy,  and  has  grown  up,  and  that  he  is 
on  the  point  of  making  a  home  for  himself.  The 
first  step,  of  course,  is  the  finding  of  a  helpmeet. 
In  such  case  there  may  come  into  practice  a  singu- 
lar usage,  followed  at  least  in  one  section  of  the 
country  and  carried  even  to  Africa,  where  it  is 
found  among  the  Boers.  This  requires  that  the 
pair,  who  seem  inclined  to  marry,  shall  sit  up  one 
night  with  a  candle  placed  on  a  stand  between 
them,  so  as  to  give  them  a  chance  to  discover, 
while  this  is  burning,  whether  they  like  each  oth- 
er well  enough  to  become  man  and  wife!    If  the 


76  THE  HOLLAND 

candle  burns  down  to  the  socket  before  the  grave 
matter  is  decided,  they  part,  and  each  is  left  free 
to  seek  some  other  mate.  It  seems  hardly  possible 
that  two  young  people  made  of  genuine  flesh  and 
blood  could  sit  the  entire  time  required  by  the  can- 
dle to  burn  out  in  glum  expectancy  as  to  what 
one  or  the  other  might  do  to  break  the  ice. 

It  is  required  that  the  banns  for  a  marriage 
shall  be  published,  and  social  etiquette  is  almost 
equally  exacting  as  to  the  publication  of  an  en- 
gagement. Wedding  cards  are  double,  the  par- 
ents of  both  parties  joining  in  the  announcement, 
that  of  the  bride's  parents  being  printed  on  the 
one  side  and  that  of  the  groom's  parents  on  the 
opposite  side. 

Marriage  is  regarded  as  a  civil  contract  and 
must  be  performed  by  a  burgomaster,  or  his  depu- 
ty, at  the  court  house,  or  city  hall.  No  other 
marriage  is  valid.  The  civil  marriage  is  almost 
invariably  followed,  however,  by  a  religious  cere- 
mony, either  in  some  church,  or  at  the  house  of 
the  bride's  parents.  Both  are  solemn  ceremonies, 
although  the  marriage  performed  in  a  church  is 
the  more  elaborate. 

Suppose  writer  and  reader  are  two  of  the  in- 
vited guests  to  a  wedding  to  be  celebrated  in  a 
church.  It  is  1.30  of  the  afternoon.  We  have 
taken  seats  commanding  a  full  view  of  all  the  par- 
ticipants in  the  scene.  As  the  bridal  party  enters 
a  wedding  march  is  played  upon  the  organ  by  a 
skilful  performer  till  the  bride  and  groom  are 
seated  in  chairs  placed  for  them  directly  in  front 
of  the  pulpit.     The  parents  and  other  attendants 


OF  TO-DAY  77 

of  the  parties  take  their  places  in  pews  on  either 
side.  When  all  are  seated,  the  sexton  ushers  the 
minister  to  the  pulpit.  As  soon  as  he  reaches  the 
desk,  he  gives  out  a  part  of  the  Psalm  lxvii, 
which,  accompanied  by  the  organ,  is  sung  by  the 
entire  congregation,  the  bride  and  groom  joining 
in  heartily.  At  the  conclusion,  the  minister  reads 
some  appropriate  scriptural  selection,  which  is 
followed  by  the  singing  of  two  verses  from  Psalm 
cxviii.  As  soon  as  the  sound  of  this  has  ceased, 
the  clergyman  offers  a  lengthy  but  appropriate 
prayer,  after  the  close  of  which  he  delivers  a  ser- 
mon of  at  least  thirty  minutes  duration.  Then 
parents  and  other  attendants  rise  and  stand,  and 
the  bride  and  groom  come  forward  to  kneel  before 
the  pulpit,  while  the  minister  reads  the  Dutch  lit- 
urgy appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  at  the  con- 
clusion pronounces  the  pair  man  and  wife,  "so 
made  after  the  ordinance  of  God."  These  then 
return  to  their  seats,  while  the  others  also  resume 
their  places.  When  the  service  is  so  far  ended,  a 
collection  is  taken  up  for  the  poor,  after  which 
another  hymn  and  the  benediction  finish  the 
whole.  As  the  parties  walk  out,  a  wedding  hymn 
is  played  to  the  tune  of  "Home,  Sweet  Home." 

Funerals. — As  soon  as  one  dies  the  public  is 
informed  by  the  aansprckcrs.  They  usually  go  in 
pairs,  each  taking  one  side  of  the  street,  stopping 
at  every  house.  They  are  garbed  in  a  costume  con- 
sisting of  a  long,  swallow-tailed  coat,  from  the 
collar  of  which  hang  down  the  back  two,  broad, 
long  bands  of  black  crape,  bound  with  silk;  a 
wide-rimmed,  low-crowned  hat  from  which  falls 


78  THE  HOLLAND 

on  one  side  another  long  crape  band ;  knee-breech- 
es with  buckles,  and  low-cut,  silver-buckled  shoes. 
The  knee-breeches  and  shoes  have  recently  gone 
out  of  fashion  in  some  sections,  as  has  also  the 
former  style  of  hat,  this  having  been  replaced  by 
the  high,  silk  hat.  As  these  go  from  house  to 
house,  they  proclaim  the  mournful  news  in  front 
of  the  houses  in  loud  tones.  Generally  at  this  day 
the  "announcers"  distribute  cards,  which  an- 
nounce the  departure  of  the  deceased,  the  black 
borders  varying  in  width  with  the  age  of  the  de- 
parted. These  aansprckers  also  precede  the 
hearse  on  foot  at  funerals.  After  the  hearse  fol- 
low carriages  containing  only  women  mourners ; 
the  relatives  of  the  other  sex  walk. 

It  is  a  lugubrious  sight  to  see  such  a  funeral 
procession,  all  the  male  mourners,  who  are 
ranged  according  to  age,  wearing  mourning  cloaks, 
their  heads  covered  with  large,  low-crowned,  but 
wide-rimmed  hats,  whose  rims  go  flapping  up 
and  down,  like  the  wings  of  some  large  black  bird. 
The  author  recalls  an  occasion  where  the  young- 
est boy,  save  one,  looking  along  the  line  of  mourn- 
ers at  the  flapping  hats,  became  suddenly  con- 
vulsed with  a  different  sensation  from  that  called 
for  by  the  occasion.  As  he  passed,  with  handker- 
chief covering  his  face  to  conceal  his  laughter  and 
with  shaking  shoulders,  a  woman  among  the  on- 
lookers was  heard  to  say:  "Just  see  how  badly 
that  poor  lad  feels  at  the  loss  of  his  grandfather." 
Appearances  may  be  deceptive. 

After  the  funeral  all  return  to  the  house  for 
the  customary  funeral  feast ;  for  whatever  the  oc- 


OF  TO-DAY  79 

casion,  your  genuine  Dutchman  must  cat,  drink, 
or  smoke.  An  occasional  abstainer  from  drink 
or  tobacco  may  be  found,  (there  have  been  Dutch- 
men who  never  smoked),  but  the  one  who  would 
refuse  an  invitation  to  cat  must  be  looked  for  in 
some  future  age. 

A  funeral  service  is  never  held  in  a  church,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  personages  of  special  promi- 
nence. The  long  and  sometimes  wearisome  fu- 
neral sermons  customary  in  America  are  unknown 
in  Holland.  The  service  is  only  the  solemn  one 
prescribed  by  the  church  liturgy. 


CHAPTER  V 
Religious  and  Secular  Feast  Days 

The  Kermis. — Intimately  connected  with  the 
home-life  of  Holland  are  its  public  feasts,  because 
these  have  their  centre  in  the  home,  and  in  these 
all  the  members  of  the  family  alike  share.  The 
most  prominent  of  these  are  the  Kermis,  Santa 
Claus  and  Easter,  not  to  mention  those  connected 
with  the  birthdays  of  the  royal  family. 

The  word  Kermis,  of  late  years  introduced 
among  us  and  erroneously  spelt  "Kirmess,"  and 
the  feast  itself,  had  a  religious  origin,  though  its 
observance  for  the  last  century  or  more  is  of  any- 
thing but  a  religious  character.  The  original  word 
was  ''Kerkmis,"  (Church-mass),  and  was  descrip- 
tive of  the  occasion  when  the  service  of  the  mass 
was  performed  once  a  year  for  all  the  people  of  a 
district.     On  this  occasion,  while  the  main  idea 


80  THE  HOLLAND 

was  religious,  the  people  assembled  in  families  in 
the  central  town  where  the  church  was  located, 
putting  up  booths  for  temporary  dwelling  and  for 
the  sale  of  merchandise. 

The  booths  were  set  up  in  the  wide  spaces  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  church,  and  were  ranged 
in  regular  order,  with  passages,  like  streets,  be- 
tween the  rows.  The  same  arrangements  prevail 
still.  The  most  frequented  of  the  booths  are  those 
which  serve  whatever  may  be  required  for  the 
delectation  of  the  Dutch  palate,  in  which,  how- 
ever, waffles  and  a  kind  of  doughnut,  called  in 
some  sections  brocdcrtjes,  (little  brothers),  in 
others  poffertjes,  (little  puffers),  are  most  in  de- 
mand. The  waffles  are  always  crisp  and  appetiz- 
ing. Throughout  the  day  and  far  into  the  night 
these  eating-booths  are  patronized  by  a  ceaseless 
succession  of  young  couples,  who  in  separate  al- 
coves enjoy  the  waffles,  or  doughnuts,  and  choco- 
late. No  young  man  in  Holland  need  lack  for  a 
fair  partner  in  his  enjoyment  of  the  Kermis.  If 
he  should  be  too  bashful  to  ask  some  maiden,  the 
damsel  will  meet  him  more  than  half  way,  and 
let  him  know  distinctly  that  she  is  "ready  and 
willing"  to  share  his  pleasure,  and  not  infrequent- 
ly she  hands  him  her  purse,  with  carte  blanche  to 
spend  its  contents  as  he  wishes  for  their  mutual 
enjoyment  at  the  fair. 

There  are  here,  also,  all  sorts  of  merry-go- 
rounds,  some  ingenious  ones  being  boats  that  quite 
imitate  the  motion  on  rough  waves.  Of  course 
there  are  mountebanks  and  fakirs.  Among  the 
latter  are  the  Jewish  peddlers  of  pickles  in  firkins 


OF  TO-DAY  8 1 

carried  under  the  arm.  These  are  followed  by 
street  gamins,  who  cry  after  them,  "A  cent  a  lick, 
two-and-a-half  cents  a  bite,"  imitating  closely  the 
peculiar  nasal  drawl  of  the  Hebrew  vender. 

The  village  Kermis  usually  offers  the  most  ex- 
citement. One  scene  may  be  given  that  may  do 
for  all.  Along  a  level  road  a  post  is  set  up,  with 
a  hollow  metal  tube  projecting  from  it,  into  which 
a  number  of  rings  are  put,  one  of  them  projecting 
at  the  end.  At  a  measured  distance  on  a  track  the 
farmers  are  ranged,  mounted  on  glossy,  ribbon- 
covered  horses,  with  their  arched  necks  and  thick 
fetlocks,  the  horses  evidently  being  more  accus- 
tomed to  draw  the  plough  or  loaded  wains  than 
to  speeding  in  a  race.  Each  competitor  is  armed 
with  a  lance  like  those  employed  in  the  ancient 
jousts.  At  the  word  of  command,  the  one  in  the 
lead  starts,  yelling  like  a  Comanche  Indian ;  his 
horse  seems  to  catch  the  excitement,  and  goes  at  a 
speed  that  is  unusual  for  such  a  heavy  draught- 
animal.  At  full  speed  the  lance  is  aimed  at  the 
ring;  if  the  rider  bears  it  off  at  the  point  of  his 
lance,  the  spectators  split  the  air  with  their  ac- 
claim. The  one  who  secures  the  most  rings  is  the 
victor,  and,  carrying  away  the  prize,  is  borne  off 
by  his  friends,  when  all  go  to  celebrate  his  success. 

Within  recent  years  the  utter  abandon  of  Ker- 
mis revelers  has  led  to  the  entire  abolition  of  the 
festival  or  to  a  great  restriction  of  it.  In  most 
cities  it  can  now  be  held  only  for  a  day,  instead  of, 
as  formerly,  for  an  entire  week. 

Santa  Claus  Festival. — The  festival  most  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  home-life  of  Holland  is 


82  THE  HOLLAND 

that  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  national  patron- 
saint.  This  falls  not  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  De- 
cember, as  with  us,  but  on  the  sixth  of  that  month, 
the  day  also  observed  as  such  by  the  Holland  So- 
ciety of  New  York.  About  this  the  family  affec- 
tions concentrate  as  about  no  other  feast.  As  the 
sixth  of  December  dawns,  the  saint  is  hailed  with 
this  song: 

"  St.  Nicholas,  good,  holy  man, 
Put  your  best  new  cassock  on  ; 
Ride  in  this  to  Amsterdam, 
From  Amsterdam  to  Spain  : 
Bring  us  cookies  from  Cocaign,"  etc. 

His  cassock  was  supposed  to  have  the  power  of 
rendering  him  invisible,  like  the  "tarnkappe"  of 
Siegfried. 

With  this,  two  pretty  legends  are  connected 
that  were  current  in  the  author's  childhood.  The 
first  of  these  told  this  story:  A  certain  man  had 
lost  all  his  property  and  was  reduced  to  want. 
After  vainly  trying  everything  he  could  think  of 
to  retrieve  his  fortune,  he  resolved  to  sell  his  three 
daughters,  whose  great  beauty  would,  doubtless, 
bring  him  a  large  sum.  When  the  unhappy  girls 
became  aware  of  it,  they  prayed  to  St.  Nicholas, 
the  protector  of  maidens,  for  deliverance.  The 
good  Saint  heard  them,  went  to  the  house  during 
the  night,  and,  through  a  broken  window,  dropped 
some  money  that  his  own  father  had  left  him.  On 
the  following  night  he  went  again  and  dropped  a 
purse  of  gold  through  the  chimney.  This  put  the 
father  on  his  guard,  so  that  he  kept  watch  during 
the  third  night,  and  caught  the  Saint  as  he  was  in 


OF  TO-DAY  83 

the  act  of  repeating  his  gift.  Then  the  father 
asked,  "Saint  Nicholas,  servant  of  the  Lord,  why 
do  you  hide  your  good  deeds  thus?"  But  from  this 
time  everyone  knew  that  St.  Nicholas  brought  his 
presents  in  the  night. 

The  other  legend  tells  the  story  of  three  boys, 
who  lost  their  way  in  a  dark  forest,  and  at  last 
came  upon  a  house  where  they  asked  for  a  night's 
lodging.  This  was  granted  ;  but,  while  they  were 
quietly  sleeping,  the  wicked  owner  of  the  cottage 
stealthily  went  to  their  bed  and  killed  them  all, 
hoping  that  so  he  would  get  the  money  that  he 
supposed  they  had  about  them.  But,  when  he 
searched  their  clothes,  he  found  that  the  poor  lads 
had  with  them  not  a  thing  of  value,  and  so  he  had 
murdered  them  for  nothing.  Then,  to  escape  de- 
tection, he  cut  up  the  bodies  and  put  the  pieces  in 
a  tub  in  the  brine  with  the  pigs'  meat.  The  next 
afternoon  the  murderer  went  to  market,  where 
St.  Nicholas  in  his  Episcopal  robes,  met  him,  and 
asked  if  he  had  any  salt  pork  to  sell.  When  the 
farmer  answered,  "No,"  the  Saint  asked  again, 
"What  about  the  three  pigs  in  your  tub?"  Upon 
this  the  frightened  farmer  confessed  his  crime  and 
begged  for  pardon.  The  Saint  commanded  the 
cruel  wretch  to  conduct  him  to  his  house,  and, 
when  they  reached  there,  St.  Nicholas  waved  his 
staff  over  the  tub,  upon  which  the  boys  were  at 
once  restored  to  life,  and,  jumping  out  of  the  tub, 
fell  on  their  knees,  and  poured  out  their  thanks 
to  their  deliverer. 

For  weeks  before  the  sixth  of  December  ar- 
rives the  talk  of  old  and  young  is  about  the  dear 


84  THE  HOLLAND 

old  Saint  and  his  day.  Every  confectioner  is  busy 
with  the  preparations  for  that  day,  each  seeking 
to  outrival  the  others.  The  demands  of  the  Saint's 
devotees  can  only  be  satisfied  by  that  which  shall 
literally  and  fully  gratify  the  taste,  though  the 
artistic  form  and  decoration  are  not  forgotten. 
Among  these  products  of  the  confectioner's  skill, 
made  especially  for  this  day,  are,  first,  the  filled 
letters.  These  are  made  of  a  delicate  crust,  pre- 
pared of  the  best  flour  and  butter,  without  the  ad- 
dition of  water.  This  is  rolled  out  thin,  filled 
with  a  delicious  paste  made  of  almonds,  sugar  and 
various  spices,  and  formed  into  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet.  From  these  are  selected  the  initials  of 
the  names  of  friends  to  whom  they  are  sent,  with 
the  compliments  of  the  season.  Another  kind  of 
cake  made  and  eaten  only  at  this  time  is  made  of 
a  stiff  dough,  rich  and  sweet,  which  is  pressed  in- 
to artistically  cut  wooden  forms,  whence  they 
come  out  in  all  sorts  of  shapes, — of  men,  animals, 
vessels,  houses,  locomotives,  etc. 

For  weeks,  evening  after  evening,  the  young 
people  come  together  in  the  sitting-room  of  some 
confectioner  to  decorate  his  artistic  creations  with 
gold  leaf.  Each  young  man  and  maiden  has  a 
book  of  gold  leaf  cut  into  thin  strips,  a  cup  of  siz- 
ing and  a  camel's  hair  brush.  The  piece  to  be 
ornamented  is  first  touched  with  the  sizing, 
wherever  the  decoration  is  most  appropriate, 
when  the  gold  is  laid  on  and  pressed  down  gently 
with  a  cotton  pad.  While  this  is  going  on,  there 
is  all  the  joking  and  gay  badinage  common  among 
familiars,  in  whom  the  desire  for  fun  and  frolic 


OF  TO-DAY  85 

is  still  strong.  When  the  work  stops,  the  work- 
ers are  treated  to  chocolate  and  cake,  and  the  re- 
maining hour  before  parting  is  spent  in  all  gaiety, 
music  and  song.  This  goes  on  until  the  last  even- 
ing before  the  morning  which  is  to  see  the  win- 
dows and  the  stores  of  every  confectioner  filled 
with  these  gilded  sweets.  Then  comes  the  day 
itself;  a  day  like  our  Christmas,  full  of  affection- 
ate looks  and  words,  of  tokens  of  kindness  and  en- 
dearment ;  a  day  always  too  short,  whose  sweet 
memories  linger  wherever  the  happy  participant 
may  afterwards  wander,  bringing  back  the  dear 
faces  so  familiar  and  so  loved  in  that  careless 
childhood,  and  drawing  many  a  sigh  for  the  van- 
ished joys  of  the  Fatherland. 

Other  Feast  Days. — The  feasts  of  Christmas, 
Easter  and  Whitsuntide,  the  last  two  called  in 
Holland  "Paas"  and  "Pinkster,"  are  celebrated 
merely  as  religious  festivals.  Each  of  these,  as 
well  as  New  Year's,  has  two  days  allotted  for  its 
celebration.  In  the  earliest  days  of  the  Reforma- 
tion there  was  much  opposition  to  the  celebration 
of  these  holy  days,  but,  in  161 8-' 19,  the  Synod  of 
Dort,  by  which  the  Reformed  Church  order  was 
regulated,  ordained  that  both  the  twenty-fifth  and 
twenty-sixth  days  of  December  should  be  relig- 
iously observed  in  the  churches.  For  this,  the  fol- 
lowing reason  was  given:  "On  the  25th  we  re- 
member the  Christ,  who  became  man  for  us ;  on 
the  26th  we  remember  Stephen,  who  for  Christ's 
sake  laid  aside  his  humanity.  On  the  former  we 
celebrate  the  birth  of  Christ  on  earth ;  on  the  lat- 
ter date  the  birth  of  Stephen  in  Heaven."    New 


86  THE  HOLLAND 

Year's  clay  used  to  be  dedicated  to  the  circumcis- 
ion of  Christ.  When  this  was  regularly  observed 
it  was  ordered  that  the  sermon  should  have  Luke 
2:21  for  its  text,  and  if  New  Year's  happened  to 
fall  on  a  Sunday,  the  first  half  of  the  text  was  to 
be  used  for  the  morning  sermon  and  the  other 
half  for  the  evening. 

This  religious  observance  of  New  Year's  Day 
has  largely  gone  out  of  fashion,  and  only  the  cus- 
tom of  calling  from  house  to  house  and  wishing 
all  a  Happy  New  Year  remains.  This  day  also 
has  its  particular  product  of  the  baker's  art  to  cel- 
ebrate it  fitly;  a  sort  of  light  bun,  usually  filled 
with  currants,  being  large  in  the  middle  and  ter- 
minating at  each  end  in  a  small,  flattened  ball. 

Some  Religious  Customs. — Because  of  their 
peculiarity,  something  should  be  said  about  some 
other  religious  customs  prevailing  in  the  Nether- 
lands, especially  those  connected  with  public  wor- 
ship as  observed  in  the  Protestant  Churches. 

The  church  service  sometimes  lasts  from  two  to 
three  hours.  The  earlier  part  is  taken  up  by  a 
preliminary  service,  led  by  a  reader,  usually  the 
principal  of  some  public  school.  He  occupies  a 
desk  directly  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  the  upper 
part  of  which,  like  that  of  the  preacher's  desk, 
consists  of  openwork  brass.  On  this  lies  the 
great  folio  Bible.  As  soon  as  the  first  bell  calling 
the  worshipers  together  has  died  upon  the  air, 
he  gives  out  part  of  a  psalm,  or  hymn,  which  is 
taken  up  and  sung  by  those  already  present,  and 
is  joined  in  by  every  new-comer,  without  the  ac- 
companiment of   the  organ.      At  the  conclusion, 


OF  TO-DAY  87 

he  reads  a  chapter  from  the  Bible,  which  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  singing  of  part  of  another  psalm  or 
hymn.  This  is  continued  till  the  time  for  the  reg- 
ular service  arrives,  the  object  being  to  keep  the 
people  in  a  worshipful  mood  while  they  assemble, 
and  to  prevent  listlessness  and  whispering.  The 
latter  is  considered  highly  indecorous,  while  the 
reading  of  a  newspaper  in  church  would  be  re- 
garded as  sacrilege. 

The  singing  is  congregational,  led  by  the  read- 
er or  precentor,  and  accompanied  by  the  organ, 
and  is  often  as  inspiring  as  one  will  hear  any- 
where. Of  late,  here  and  there,  choirs  have  been 
introduced,  but  only  to  assist  in  the  congregation- 
al singing,  the  people  themselves  being  capable  of 
taking  the  four  parts,  owing  to  the  training  they 
have  received  in  the  public  schools  as  children. 
In  some  of  the  dissenting  churches,  it  is  considered 
a  mark  of  piety  to  drag  out  the  notes  to  inordinate 
length,  the  effect  of  which,  upon  a  cultivated  ear, 
is  not  pleasant.  The  sermon,  with  rare  excep- 
tions, is  delivered  without  any  notes,  and,  so  far  as 
its  structure  goes,  is  invariably  a  finished  literary 
production.  Some  of  the  preachers  are  orators  of 
no  mean  order. 

The  main  fault  an  American  would  find  with 
the  discourses  is  their  too  great  length,  extending 
sometimes  to  a  whole  hour.  The  tedium  of  this 
is  relieved,  however,  by  the  singing  of  part  of  a 
hymn,  or  psalm,  when  one-half  of  the  sermon  has 
been  given.  The  hearers  often  exercise  their  lib- 
erty by  standing  up  during  the  discourse,  and  fend 
off  drowsiness  by  yawning.  Another  singular  sight 


88  THE  HOLLAND 

is  to  see  the  men  seated  in  church  with  their  heads 
covered ;  also  standing  up  for  prayer,  holding  their 
hats  before  their  faces.  When  the  hour  for  the 
regular  service  arrives,  the  minister,  dressed  in 
the  Geneva  gown  and  bands,  is  ushered  by  the 
sexton  to  the  foot  of  the  pulpit,  where  he  stands 
for  a  moment  in  prayer  before  ascending  to  his 
lofty  position. 

To  preserve  order  and  decorum,  there  is  an  of- 
ficial subordinate  to  the  sexton,  who  carries  a 
long  stick,  with  which,  mindful  of  the  Scripture, 
"Without  are  dogs,"  he  drives  out  any  stray  cur 
that  may  enter,  and  keeps  unruly  boys  in  awe. 
The  sexes  are  kept  separate  in  the  churches,  and, 
where  there  is  an  asylum  of  any  description,  or  a 
garrison,  or  navyyard,  the  persons  belonging  to 
those  institutions  have  particular  seats  assigned 
them  in  the  church. 

Religious  Character  of  People. — In  this  con- 
nection we  may  speak  of  the  religious  character 
of  the  Dutch  people.  Roughly  stated,  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Netherlands  is  made  up  of  about 
3,000,000  Protestants  and  2,000,000  Catholics — 
all  sects  receiving  a  certain  stipend  from  the  gov- 
ernment, except  the  Baptists,  who  have  consist- 
ently refused  to  receive  such  aid.  The  old  Prot- 
estants who  are  strict  Calvinists  closely  resem- 
ble the  old  Puritans  of  England  and  the  Presby- 
terians and  Covenanters  of  Scotland.  They  are 
great  readers  and  students  of  the  Bible,  with 
which  they  are  as  familiar  as  with  their  ABC, 
and  can  quote  at  any  time  chapter  and  verse  to 
substantiate   some   doctrine   or   controvert  some 


OF  TO-DAY  89 

heresy.  They,  too,  like  their  Scotch  brethren, 
dearly  love  a  debate  upon  some  dogmatical  point, 
and  are  as  sharp  in  this  as  their  fellow-believers 
described  in  Butler's  Iludibras,  who — 

"Could  distinguish  and  divide 
A  hair,  twixt  south  and  south-west  side." 

These  also  were  and  are  now  strict  observers  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  enforce  in  their  families  at 
tendance  on  the  services  three  times  during  the 
day,  while  all  amusements,  all  recreation  and  the 
reading  of  secular  books  are  strictly  prohibited. 

This  class  of  the  religious  community  has  for 
some  time  greatly  diminished  in  numbers,  and 
now  constitutes  only  a  small  minority.  For  here, 
as  everywhere,  the  advancement  of  more  liberal 
ideas  has  been  productive  of  a  change  in  the  ways 
and  modes  of  thinking  of  the  people  at  large.  For 
the  latter,  one  religious  service  on  Sunday  is  quite 
sufficient,  the  rest  of  the  day  being  spent  in  recre- 
ation, not  always,  it  must  be  confessed,  conducive 
to  a  stronger  moral  life.  Those  who  adhere  to 
the  old  ways  and  belief  are  frequently  made  the 
objects  of  opprobrium.  But  this  is  a  story  which 
in  past  times  has  had  repetition  in  every  so-called 
Christian  country. 


CHAPTER   VI 

Art,  Science  and  Education 

Art  in  Holland. — Some  one  has  called  Holland 
'The  Wonderland  of  Art."  Onlv  the  merest  refer- 


90  THE  HOLLAND 

ence  can  here  be  made,  however,  to  what  has  been 
and  is  being  achieved  in  this  or  the  other  higher 
departments  of  human  activity. 

The  country  has  established  a  school  of  art  equal 
in  some  features,  even  superior,  to  the  schools  of 
Italy  and  Spain.  De  Amicis,  that  charming  Ital- 
ian writer  on  Holland,  says  that  there  are  really 
but  two  schools  of  Art,  the  Italian  and  the  Dutch, 
all  the  others  being  daughters  of  one  of  them. 
There  are  few  countries  that  can  boast  of  such  a 
long  list  of  masters,  who  have  made  the  brush  in- 
scribe their  names  on  the  unfading  scroll  of  fame, 
from  Frans  Hals,  whose  portraits  seem  not  the 
images  of  his  subjects  but  the  living  men  them- 
selves, and  Rembrandt,  that  conqueror  of  light 
and  shade,  and  Wouverman,  the  thundering  rush 
of  whose  horses  on  the  battlefield  can  almost  be 
heard,  to  Paul  Potter,  whose  "Bull"  could  not  be 
bought  for  a  king's  ransom,  and  Van  Huysum,  of 
whom  all  the  potentates  of  Europe  begged  his 
marvelous  flower-pieces  and  so  on  through  a  suc- 
cession of  names  that  have  vied  with  the  greatest 
produced  anywhere  in  the  past  four  centuries. 

That  this  mighty  spirit  of  creative  art  has  not 
yet  departed  is  demonstrated  by  another  and  later 
host  of  geniuses.  I  need  only  name  the  Mestdags, 
father  and  son,  the  former  of  whom  painted  that 
magnificent  "Sunset  at  Sea,"  which  has  been  given 
the  place  of  honor  in  the  National  Museum,  at 
Amsterdam,  with  the  "Nightwatch"  of  Rem- 
brandt; Josselin  de  Jong,  to  whom  we  owe  the 
best  portraits  of  the  noble  Wilhelmina ;  Madame 
Bilders  van  Bosse,  whose  woods  and  bosky  groves 


OF  TO-DAY  91 

seem  endowed  with  life;  Madame  Vogels-Rooze- 
boom,  for  whom,  as  if  in  response  to  her  name, 
(Rose-tree),  "the  fairest  flowers  rise  up,  as  at  a 
magician's  touch,  when  she  raises  her  brush;"  and 
others,  so  well-known  among  us  by  their  great 
works,  Joseph  Israels,  Mauve,  and  Jacob,  Wil- 
liam and  Thys  Maris. 

In  sculpture  Holland  has  not  attracted  such 
wide  attention  as  in  the  sister  art,  although  the 
numerous  monuments  to  her  heroes  prove  that  in 
this,  too,  she  has  a  noble  past;  but  of  late  years 
Ode,  Bart  de  Hove,  Van  Wyck  and,  chief.  Pier 
Pander,  the  crippled  son  of  a  poor  Frisian  mat- 
plaiter,  have  gained  a  good  name  among  their  fel- 
lows in  the  same  line  of  art  in  other  countries. 
The  latter  was  summoned  from  Rome  by  Queen 
Wilhelmina  to  model  the  bust  of  the  Prince  Con- 
sort, Duke  Henry  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 

Appreciation  and  taste  for  art  are  cultivated  in 
every  school,  from  the  lowest  elementary  schools 
to  the  universities,  and  are  kept  alive  by  frequent 
exhibitions  at  numerous  art  galleries.  There  are, 
besides,  three  societies  whose  special  purpose  is  to 
encourage  the  study  and  practice  of  art:  the  Art 
Circle  at  The  Hague,  the  Society  of  Art  and 
Friendship  at  Rotterdam,  and  the  Society  for  the 
Study  of  the  Beautiful.  These  are  in  addition  to 
the  regular  schools  of  art,  of  which  the  National 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts  stands  at  the  head.  By  a 
law  of  May  26,  1870,  an  annual  competition  for 
prizes  in  the  fine  arts  was  established,  to  be  held 
at  the  National  Academy.  In  this  only  native 
Dutchmen, or  the  children  of  such  residing  abroad. 


92  THE  HOLLAND 

can  compete.  Candidates  must  first  pass  a  suc- 
cessful examination  at  that  Academy  before  they 
can  be  enrolled  among  the  competitors  for  the 
prize  in  either  painting,  sculpture,  or  artistic  ar- 
chitecture. Two  prizes  are  offered,  one  in  gold 
and  the  other  in  silver.  The  successful  competi- 
tor for  the  first  prize,  upon  recommendation  by 
the  directors  of  the  Academy,  may  be  granted  an 
annuity  of  twelve  hundred  guilders  ($480),  with 
an  additional  one  thousand  guilders  ($400),  an- 
nually, for  rent  of  his  atelier  and  models.  Among 
the  most  notable  of  the  competitors  so  far  have 
been  the  sculptors  J.  H.  P.  Wortman  and  J.  C. 
Wienecke,  who  gained  respectively  the  gold  and 
silver  medals  in  1896,  the  subject  of  the  statue 
in  each  case  being  "The  Prodigal  Son." 

In  recent  years  there  has  been  a  great  revival  in 
repousee,  or  hammered  work  in  metal.  In  this 
Jan  Hendrik  Brom,  of  Utrecht,  has  become  most 
noteworthy.  His  "Crucifixion,"  in  chased  cop- 
per, in  the  Chapel  of  the  Roman  Catholic  college 
at  Katwyk,  is  among  the  most  beautiful  of  its 
kind.  By  the  same  artist  is  an  exquisite  piece, 
"The  Guardian  Angel  of  the  City  of  Maastricht," 
which  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Queen. 

In  book-illustration,  there  are  few  anywhere  su- 
perior to  Jan  Braakensiek,  who,  by  his  splendid 
cartoons  in  the  Amstcrdammer,  and  by  his  vigor- 
ous and  lifelike  illustrations  elsewhere,  has  wron 
for  himself  a  more  than  national  reputation. 

The  artistic  work  in  earthenware  produced  by 
the  potteries  of  Gouda,  Rosenberg  and  Delft  can 


OF  TO-DAY  93 

only  be  mentioned,  though  the  Delft  ware  has  for 
generations  been  famous  the  world  over. 

In  music,  Holland  may  scarcely  be  mentioned 
at  the  same  time  with  Italy,  Germany,  or  France. 
And  yet  even  in  this  she  possesses  a  fame  that  ex- 
tends from  remote  times  down  to  the  present.  As 
far  back  as  the  earlier  part  of  the  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury the  Netherlands  had  her  great  composers  and 
masters  in  counterpoint,  such  as  Okeghem  and  his 
pupil  Josquin,  who  became  the  great  choir  leader 
at  St.  Marks,  Venice;  and  Adrian  Willaert,  the 
teacher  of  Zarlino,  called  "the  father  of  modern 
harmony,"  who  was  summoned  to  take  the  posif 
tion  of  musical  leader  at  the  court  of  Louis  XII. 
of  France,  a  post  he  held  for  a  number  of  years!"**- — 
The  Italian  Guicciardini  testifies  that  in  his  time 
the  Dutch  musicians  were  sought  for  by  all  the 
courts  of  Christendom. 

Among  recent  composers  of  note,  she  has  pro- 
duced at  least  three  whose  names  ought  to  be  wi- 
der known — Verhulst,  De  Lang  and  Mann.  But 
they  have  rarely  published  their  works,  because, 
strange  to  say,  the  national  feeling  is  not  strong 
enough  to  give  them  public  patronage  at  home ; 
accordingly  they  seek  recognition  for  their  work 
mainly  at  private  concerts.  Fame  in  this  branch 
of  art  has  of  late  years  been  carried  to  our  shores 
by  some  of  the  these  masters,  and  has  for  several 
seasons  been  maintained  here  by  the  great  bari- 
tone, Van  Rooy. 

The  Netherlands  is  rich  in  its  store  of  ballads 
and  other  compositions  dealing  with  heroic  events, 
for  which   the  terrible  Eighty  Years'  War  fur- 


94  THE  HOLLAND 

nished  an  abundance  of  subjects,  or  with  some 
romantic  incidents.  Of  the  latter  the  author  re- 
calls a  fine  example,  describing  the  parting  of  two 
lovers,  he  impatient  to  be  off  to  the  field  of  glory, 
she  eager  to  retain  him  a  little  while  longer.  In 
it  both  the  metre  and  the  music  closely  imitate 
the  rhythmic  march  of  troops  going  to  battle,  as 
may  be  illustrated  by  four  of  its  lines,  although 
the  translation  necessarily  mars  much  of  the 
beauty  and  vividness  of  the  original: 

"  Hear'st  not,  my  Ada,  the  drum's  urgent  rattle? 

Hear'st  not  the  shrill  sounding  trumpets  of  war  ?" 
"Herman,  why  dream  thus  of  conquest  an*  battie? 

'Tis  but  thy  fancy  that  calls  thee  afar." 

Among  national  airs  there  are  few  which  have 
more  stir  and  swing  to  them  than  the  old  "Wil- 
helmus  Van  Nassauwen ;"  and  there  is  no  coun- 
try where  more  melodious  chimes  are  found,  to 
make  the  air  pulsate  at  every  half  and  full  hour 
with  the  sweetest  music. 

The  great  national  instrument  is  the  organ.  On 
this  there  are  some  notable  performers.  Most  of 
these  are  men,  though  there  are  some  noteworthy 
women  organists  in  private  life,  the  best  known 
of  whom  is  the  blind  Elizabeth  Moser,  who  was 
educated  at  royal  expense  at  the  Institute  for  the 
Blind  at  Amsterdam.  It  is  remarkable  also  that 
several  of  the  Dutch  male  organists  are  blind. 

The  seeker  for  the  grand  and  sublime  in  archi- 
tecture would  not  find  his  quest  as  well  rewarded 
in  the  Netherlands  as  in  its  neighboring  Belgium. 
There  are,  however,  some  ancient  buildings  which 
have  a  special  beauty  of  their  own,  as  the  City 


OF  TO-DAY  95 

Hall  at  Middelburg,  the  Watergate  at  Sneek  and 
the  Weigh  House  at  Alkmaar,  where  the  red, 
round  Edam  cheeses  are  weighed. 

A  revival  has  also  come  to  Holland  in  architec- 
ture of  which  the  most  noted  exponent  is  H.  P. 
Berlage,  Nz.,  of  Amsterdam,  the  architect  of  the 
fine  new  Exchange  and  of  the  Assembly  Hall  of 
the  Diamond  Cutters  Union,  both  in  Amsterdam, 
and  of  notable  interiors  in  Hamburg,  Berlin, 
Bremen,  Paris  and  Antwerp. 

Scientific  Achievements. — In  the  domain  of 
science  the  world  owes  to  Holland  many  a  dis- 
covery, or  invention,  that  has  enriched  commerce 
and  enabled  the  learned  to  unravel  the  secrets  of 
Nature,  either  in  the  far-sweeping  heavens  above, 
or  in  the  minute  creatures  about  our  feet.  To 
Jansen  and  Huygens  we  are  indebted  for  the  first 
telescopes  and  microscopes ;  to  Drebbel  for  the 
first  thermometer;  to  Christian  Huygens  for  the 
pendulum;  to  Musschenbroek  for  the  Leyden  jar. 

The  herring  fisheries  became  to  the  Netherland- 
ers  of  more  value  than  all  the  gold  and  silver  of 
ancient  Peru,  when,  in  1384.  William  Beukelsz,  of 
Biervliet,  discovered  the  method  of  curing  fish.  In 
microscopy  Holland  has  given  to  the  world  the 
immortal  name  of  Leenwenhoek ;  in  jurispru- 
dence, Hugo  de  Groot,  the  father  of  International 
Law  and  the  founder  of  the  laws  of  peace  and 
war;  in  medicine,  Boerhaave,  the  rival  in  fame  in 
this  department  of  Hippocrates  and  Galen;  in 
military  science,  Coehoorn,  the  rival  of  Vauban 
in  the  art  of  fortification.  To-day  several  of  the 
professors  of  the  Dutch  universities  are  acknowl- 


96  THE  HOLLAND 

edged  authorities  in  various  departments  of  scien- 
tific research;  while  in  anthropology,  the  re- 
searches of  Doctor  Dubois  in  Java  have  done 
much  to  establish  and  prove  the  theories  of  Dar- 
win in  this  particular  branch  of  science. 

The  great  botanist,  Hugo  de  Vries,  became 
widely  known  among  us,  during  the  past  summer, 
by  the  lectures  he  delivered  at  numerous  places, 
and  by  his  opening  of  the  new  laboratory  of  the 
Carnegie  Institute. 

Literature. — The  literature  of  Holland  is 
strangely  unknown  to  English  and  American 
readers.  The  cause  of  this  is  to  be  sought  for  in 
our  almost  total  ignorance  of  the  Dutch  language. 
What  is  known  of  it  is  largely  confined  to  the 
writings  of  Erasmus  and  Grotius,  or  Hugo  de 
Groot,  which,  however,  were  written  in  Latin. 
Had  they  been  written  in  Dutch,  it  is  likely  that 
even  the  works  of  such  famous  men  would  have 
been  buried  in  oblivion.  But  in  this  department 
of  human  activity  there  has  been  no  dearth  of 
worthy  labor  in  the  Netherlands,  from  the  great- 
est of  her  older  poets,  Vondel,  "the  Milton  of 
Holland,"  to  those  who,  to-day,  are  writing,  as 
he  did,  for  eternity.  Although  his  monument  bears 
the  inscription  "Scripit  aeternitati"  (he  wrote 
for  eternity),  it  was  not  till  Mr.  L.  C.  van  Nop- 
pen,  a  worthy  descendant  of  Dutch  ancestors,  a 
few  years  ago  brought  out  an  excellent  translation 
of  Vondel's  Lucifer  that  the  American  literary 
world  became  acquainted  with  this  masterpiece. 

The  list  of  noteworthy  poets,  historians  and 
novelists  that  followed  Vondel,  from  Father  Cats, 


OF  TO-DAY  97 

the  most  beloved  of  popular  poets,  to  the  novel- 
ists van  Lennep  and  Madame  Bosboom-Toussaint, 
is  too  great  to  enumerate.  Within  the  last  three 
decades  a  revival  has  occurred  in  Dutch  literature 
that  will  yet  force  recognition  in  other  lands;  in- 
deed it  has  already  done  so  in  the  excellent  trans- 
lation by  Miss  Putnam  of  that  masterpiece  of  his- 
toric writing,  Professor  Blok's  History  of  the 
Dutch  People.  Among  those  who  have  taken  the 
lead  in  this  renaissance,  the  editors  of  and  writers 
for  De  Gids,  one  of  the  oldest  reviews  in  any  mod- 
ern tongue,  stands  in  the  forefront ;  while  the 
young  novelist  Augusta  de  Witt,  and  the  great 
poet,  Helen  Lapidoth-Swarth,  display,  the  one  a 
marvelous  power  of  description,  the  other  a 
wealth  of  invention  and  imagery,  with  an  almost 
magical  power  of  expression. 

Education. — The  work  of  education  in  the 
Netherlands  is  conducted  according  to  a  system  so 
complete  and  thorough  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  point  out  any  defects  in  it.  At  its  head  stands 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  under  whom  are 
three  Chief  Inspectors,  one  each  for  the  Northern, 
the  Southern  and  the  Northeastern  provinces.  Un- 
der these  there  are  twenty-five  District  and  one 
hundred  Arondissement  Superintendents.  Be- 
sides these,  there  is  a  system  of  local  supervision, 
which  in  places  having  less  than  three  thousand 
inhabitants  devolves  upon  the  local  burgomaster 
and  magistrates;  in  those  of  over  three  thousand 
inhabitants,  upon  a  specially  appointed  school 
commission.  Each  of  these  officials  must  be  fully 
qualified  for  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 


98  THE  HOLLAND 

BEST  WORKS  IN  ENGLISH 
ON  HOLLAND. 

Motley,  John  Lothrop.  "Rise  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
public."   3  vols.     New  York,   1861. 

(Same).  "History  of  the  United  Netherlands." 
4  vols.     New  York,  1 861 -1864. 

(Same).  "John  of  Barneveld."  2  vols.  New 
York,  1874. 

Putnam,  Ruth.  "William  the  Silent."  New 
York,  1895. 

Putnam  and  Bierstadt  (Translators).  "History 
of  the  Dutch  People."     New  York,  1898. 

Griffis,  W.  E.  "The  American  in  Holland." 
Boston,  1899. 

(Same).       "Brave     Little     Holland."      Boston, 

1894- 

Esquiros,  Alphonse,  "The  Dutch  at  Home."  Lon- 
don, 1863. 

De  Amicis,  Amades.  "Holland  and  Its  People." 
New  York,  1893. 

Meldrum,  D.  S.  "Holland  and  the  Hollanders." 
New  York,  1898. 

Hough,  P.  M.  "Dutch  Life  in  Town  and  Coun- 
try."  New  York,  1893. 

Havard,  Henry.  (Translator,  Anna  Wood). 
"Dead  Cities  of  the  Zuyder  Zee."  Lon- 
don, 1875. 

(Same.  Translator,  Mrs.  Cashel  Hoey). 
"Through  the  Heart  of  Holland."  Lon- 
don, 1880. 

Mets,  J.  A.  "Naval  Heroes  of  Holland."  New 
York,  1 90 1. 


OF  TO-DAY 


99 


INDKX  TO  CONTENTS 


Adolf,  12 
Agriculture,  34 
Alkmaar,  95 

Amicis,  De,  5,  18,  90 

Amsterdam,  26,  27,  31 

Apel,  Reverend,  60 

Arnold,  Duke,  12 

Art  schools,  91 

Bailey,  22 

Batavia,  16 

Hatavians,  7,  14,  37 

Bathing  machines,  21 

Beds,  56 

Beggars  of  the  sea,  66 

Berlage,  H.  P.,  9=, 

Beukelsz,  William,  95 

Beylinck,  41 

Bible,  reading,  5S 

Biervliet,  95 

Birds,  1 ; 

Births,  71 

Blok,  f'rofessor,  97 

Bloemendaal,  36 

Boerhaave,  95 

Boers,  40 

Boosboom  Toussaint,  97 

Braakensiek   Jan,  92 

Brom,  Jan  Hendrik,  92 

Bugs,  13 

Buren,  12 

Burgundy,  12 

Burns,  43* 

Butler,  89 

Ca?sar,  Julius,  15,  39 

Canals,  24;  North  Holland, 
26;  North  Sea,  27;  Rhine- 
Merwede,  27,  28;  ship,  26 

Carmen,  Sylva,  20 

Cats,  Father,  32,  96 

Catti,  7,  14,  37 

Charles  V.,  40 

Christenings,  74 

Churches,  55;  services,  87 

Coehoorn,  95 

Comfoortje,  57 

Coxinga,  42 

Cromlechs,  14 

Danes.  3S 

De  Lang,  93 

Delft,  92 

De  Witt,  Augusta,  97;  Broth- 
ers, 43,  97 


Ditches,  28 

Dolmens,  14 

Domburg,  20 

Doofpot,  54 

Drente,  14,  36 

Dress,  44 

Dubois,  96 

Dunes,  18 

Dykes,  21 

Raster  games,  64 

Edam  cheeses,  95 

Eighty  Years'  War,  93 

Erasmus,  96 

Family  government,  59 

First  settlers,  13 

Feast  days,  85 

Floods,  16 

Floriculture,  34 

Flushing,  9,  11,  20,  60 

Friesland,  22,  45 

Frisian  baby,  38;  cattle,  10 

Frisians,  38 

Funerals,  77 

Furniture,  53 

(lames,  home,  61;  outdoor,  62 

Gold  ornaments,  46 

Gouda,  92 

Goyet,  42 

Groningen,  23,  38 

Groot,  Hugo  de,  95,  96 

Grotius,  96 

Guelderland,  7,  12,  17,  24 

Guiceiardini,  93 

Haarlem,  31,  51;  lake,  30 

Hague,  The,  18,  26,  31 

Hals,  Frans,  90 

Hambroeck,  42 

Havard,  11 

Helder,  23,  26 

Henry,  Duke,  91 

Highways,  31 

Homes,  51 

Honesty,  Dutch,  40 

Hoogeveen,  36 

Home-life,  57 

Hop-scotch,  64 

Horse  races,  65 

House  in  the  Woods,  32 

Hove.  Bart  de,  91 

Hudson,  Hendrik,  39 

Huygens,  95 

Israels,  Joseph,  91 


ioo      THE  HOLLAND  OF  TO-DAY 


Jansen,  95 

Jong,  Josselin  de,  90 
Josquin,  93 
Kananifates,  37 
Katwyk,  92 
Kermis,  51,  79 
Leenwenhoek,  95 
Leyden,  24,  31;  jar,  93 
Louis  XII.,  93;  XIV.,  24 
Low  Countries,  6,  9,  34 
Maastricht,  92 
Mann,  93 
Mantel-pieces,  53 
Marbles,  62 
Maris,  Jacob,  etc.,  91 
Marriages,  75 
Marken,  Island  of,  46 
Mauve,  91 

Merry-go-rounds,  80 
Mestdags,  90 
Meuse,  7,  12, 14 
Middelburg,  9,  14,  20,  95 
Moser,  Elizabeth,  94 
Music,  60 

Musschenbroek,  95 
Naarden,  6b 
Name,  Holland,  5 
Napoleon  I.,  15 
Nehellenia,  14 
New  Year,  86 
Nieuwe  Diep,  26 
Ode,  01 
Okeghem,  93 
Orange,  Prince  of,  40 
Overyssel,  7,  38 
Pander,  Pier,  91 
Parks,  52 

Passions,  Dutch,  43 
Pavements,  scouring,  33 
Peat,  36 
People,  37 
Philip  II.,  40 
Physical  features,  8 
Pichegru,  12 
Pipes,  lighting,  57 
Potter,  Paul,  90 
P\itnam,  Miss,  97 
Quatre  Bras,  40 
Religious  character,  88;  cus- 
toms, 86 
Rembrandt,  90 
Rhine,  14,  28 

Rhine-Merwede  canal,  27,  28 
Romans,  15,  22 


Rosenberg,  92 

Rotterdam,  7,  9,  10,  26,  52 

Salii,  38 

Santa  Glaus  festival,  81 

Scheldt,  14,  23 

Scheveningen,  20,  31 

Schouten,  39 

Shoes,  wooden,  50 

Skating,  65 

Sleighing,  69 

Sneek,  95 

Stoves,  56 

Streets,  32 

Tasman,  39 

Ten  Kate,  58 

Tennis,  64 

Tholen,  47 

Tiel,  34 

Trekschuyts,  25 

Tulip-bulbs,  35 

Utrecht,  17,  34 

Van  Bosse,  Madam,  90 

Van  Dieman,  39 

Van  Huysum,  90 

Van  Lerinep,  97 

Van  Noppen,  L.  C,  96 

Van  Rooy,  93 

Van  Wyck,  91 

Vauban,  95 

Verhulst,  93 

Vogels-Roozeboom,  Madam, 

91 
Vondel,  96 
Vries,  Hugo  de,  96 
Walcheren,  9,  14,  19,  23 
Watchmen,  61 
Water  department,  23 
Waterloo,  40 
Wellington,  40 
Wienecke,  J.  C,  92 
Wilhelmina,  5,  59,  90,  91 
Willaert,  Adrian,  93 
William  III.,  iS 
Windmills,  29 
Wortman,  J.  H.  P.,  92 
Wouverman,  90 
V,  27 

Yacht  racing.  65 
Ymuiden,  27,  28 
Zarlino,  93 
Zeeland,  23,  45 
Zeelandia,  42 
Zuyder   Zee,  8,  12,  17,  27,  31, 

46,  66 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 

\mn  L0AT4  DLw., 


^ 


;.;.-< 


JAN  5 

Maiioutua ' 


t 


UC  SOUTHERN  REHO^ 

■■If!" 

PLEASE  DO    NOT    REMOVE 
THIS    BOOK  CARD     \ 

i 

c^UIBRARYftr 


University  Research  Library 


